The offshore wind sector dominates the latest string of offshore vessel orders and deliveries. Orders have been placed for one massive turbine installation vessel for a European owner, an SOV for a UK operator, and a subsea installation vessel for the US market, but the recent movements are focused mostly on crewboats.
Offshore Windservice takes delivery of third crewboat in series
Oma Baatbyggeri in Norway has delivered a new crewboat to Danish operator Offshore Windservice.
FOB SWATH 10 is the third in a series to be built for the same owner. All boats in the series are specially designed for transporting service personnel and have been designed and developed together with Odfjell Wind.
The newbuild can operate in catamaran mode or in SWATH mode. In catamaran mode, the boat can sail at high speed, while rolling and impact are reduced to a minimum due to the large distance from the waterline level and up to the tunnel.
In SWATH mode, the vessel is lowered approximately 1.5 metres in the sea to achieve reduced movements and provide safe transfers of personnel.
The crewboat has a service speed of 35 knots and is certified to transport up to 55 passengers. It will operate at offshore wind farms throughout the North Sea Basin.
A-O-S orders hybrid-ready crewboats
American Offshore Services (A-O-S) placed an order for four hybrid crewboats in a series to be built by Blount Boats.
The 99-foot (30-metre) vessels will be the first hybrid-ready crewboats operating in the United States following their delivery during the 2023-2024 timeframe. All four vessels will afterwards immediately go to work servicing offshore wind farm projects off the East Coast.
South Korean yard to build second WTIV for Eneti
Eneti has entered into a binding agreement for the construction of one wind turbine installation vessel through exercising an option it held with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME).
Eneti had earlier placed one firm order for a WTIV. This second vessel is scheduled for early in the second quarter of 2025.
The GustoMSC-designed vessel will include a 2,600-tonne leg encircling crane to enable installation wind turbines of 20 MW at depths of up to 65 metres of water. The vessel itself can be adapted to operate on alternate fuels such as LNG and ammonia.
Singapore's Sam Pan Marine to get locally-built crewboats
Singapore-based Sam Pan Marine Holdings has ordered six crewboats in a series from local shipyard Strategic Marine.
The contract also includes an option for the construction of six additional vessels.
The crewboats will be designed by UK naval architects BMT. Each vessel can be fitted with various engine and propulsion options and can reach speeds of more than 30 knots.
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock taps local yard for rock installation vessel
Philly Shipyard has been awarded a contract by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (GLDD) for the construction of a Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel, the first such ship to enter the US market.
GLDD retains a right of first refusal on a second ship.
The initial award is valued at approximately US$197 million. If both ships are ordered, the total contract value of the two-ship program would be approximately US$382 million.
The vessel is designed to carry up to 20,000 tonnes of rock and transport and strategically deposit these rocks to the ocean bottom, laying a foundation for the monopiles that will serve as the prevailing support structure for offshore wind turbines.
The ship will have an LOA of 140.5 metres, a beam of of 34.1 metres, and crew accommodations for 45 people.
Delivery for the first vessel is scheduled for Q4 2024 with the second, if awarded, being delivered in Q4 2025.
Norwegian builder secures fourth SOV order from UK's North Star Renewables
UK company the North Star Group and Fincantieri subsidiary Vard have entered into an agreement for the design and construction of a service operation vessel (SOV).
The vessel will be the fourth in a series to be acquired by North Star for operation by its North Star Renewables business. Like its sisters, it will be deployed at the Dogger Bank wind farm off the UK coast.
