Sov News

North Star has secured debt investment of up to $543 million (£425 million) to fuel the next phase of its European offshore wind expansion, setting the target to add 40 hybrid service operation vessels (SOVs) to its fleet by 2040.The committed financial package of $287 million (£225 million) includes term facilities from existing lender, IFM Investors, and committed capex and working capital resources from banks including ABN AMRO (sustainability co-ordinator), AIB, NAB, Royal…

North Star has secured a contract with Siemens Gamesa to build a hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) bound for long-term charter at the East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm in UK.Cochin Shipyard has been confirmed to build the SOV of VARD 4 19 design for North Star’s growing fleet.The high specification vessel will accommodate up to 60 of its client’s wind technicians as they support maintenance operations across all 95 wind turbines at the East Anglia Hub development. To ensure safe crew transfers…

At a high-level, there are three solutions to transferring technicians from shore bases to offshore wind farms for construction and O&M activities: crew transfer vessel (CTV), helicopter, and SOVs/CSOVs.SOVs and CSOVs generally house 60-120 technicians offshore for a few weeks at a time, allowing them to transfer to structures on integrated heave compensated gangways, by daughter craft or on CTVs. The vessels are also equipped with cranes, storage, and small workshop areas.SOV: Service operations vessels…

Danish shipowner CBED has signed a contract with Siemens Gamesa for the first offshore wind project for its new SOV Wind Creation as part of the CBED fleet.With the new walk-to-work project, the SOV joins commissioning an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.The project starts at the end of the second quarter of 2024 and runs for the remainder of the year, thereby securing full activity for Wind Creation until the first quarter of 2025.CBED now has all three vessels in the fleet…

Norwegian firm Brunvoll has been selected as a supplier of the propulsion and maneuvering system for one of Esvagt’s new offshore wind service operation vessels (SOV).Esvagt’s new SOV will be controlled by Brunvoll’s propulsion and thruster control system, BruCon PTC.The vessel will be outfitted with two azimuth propulsion thrusters, two retractable azimuth thrusters, and a tunnel thruster.Once completed, the new vessel will enter operation for Vestas on the Hollandse Kust West VI wind farm in the North Sea. The wind farm will feature 54 wind turbines and can deliver 760 MW.

Bibby Marine has secured a three-year contract extension with long-standing client TotalEnergies EP Nederland for its ‘walk-to-work’ service operation vessel (SOV) Bibby WaveMaster 1.The three-year charter extension will begin in the first quarter of 2025, and the vessel will be deployed on the Dutch continental shelf in the Southern North Sea.The SOV will continue to accommodate and transport service engineers and maintenance personnel, supporting gas production activities across…

Danish vessel owner Esvagt and South Korea-based shipping company KMC Line have formed strategic partnership to cooperate on offshore wind opportunities in the East Asian country.A new collaboration between Esvagt and KMC Line, formalized through the signing of the letter of intent, is aiming to unlock the considerable potential in South Korean offshore wind industry.Combining the two shipping companies' respective strengths is the new partnership's strongest card to secure a significant market position in the developing offshore value chain in the country…

Northern Offshore Services (N-O-S), part of Northern Offshore Group (N-O-G), has integrated Mareel within the company as N-O-S Ltd, simultaneously adding its 16 crew transfer vessels (CTV) to the fleet.The move marks an important step toward optimizing synergies within the organization and pave the way for a unified market approach.The initiative is set to reinforce N-O-S’ business, providing a cohesive platform for delivering unparalleled services to their clients by capitalizing on N-O-S experience in the fast-growing renewable energy segment.“At N-O-G…

Vard, a Norwegian subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group, has signed a contract for the design and construction of a hybrid power service operation vessel (SOV) for the Taiwanese company Cyan Renewables.The news comes after Siemens Gamesa awarded a 15-year charter contract to Cyan Renewables for the SOV that will enter service at Hai Long 2, part of the Hai Long Offshore Wind Project, consisting of Hai Long 2 and 3 offshore wind farms in Taiwan.Siemens Gamesa Selects Contractor for…

Cyan Renewables, a portfolio company of Seraya Partners, will build Siemens Gamesa’s first service operations vessel (SOV) in Asia to facilitate the servicing of wind turbines for the Hai Long offshore wind projects in Taiwan.Siemens Gamesa awarded a 15-year charter contract to Cyan Renewables. The contract will begin in 2026 and the SOV will be used to service 73 SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines in Hai Long offshore wind farms, located about 50 km off the coast of Changhua County in Taiwan.As one of the largest offshore wind farms in Taiwan with a total installed capacity of over 1GW…

Danish shipowner CBED has signed a contract with Hughes Subsea, a subsidiary of OEG Energy, for Wind Evolution’s first offshore project, just three weeks after acquiring the service operation vessel (SOV).With the new walk-to-work contract, CBED has secured full activity for Wind Evolution SOV until early first quarter of 2025, with two additional one-year options to extend the project contract.OEG Energy’s Hughes Subsea specializes in subsea services across the offshore oil and gas, renewable energy, and other sectors.CBED will take delivery of Wind Evolution end of March 2024.

North Star has confirmed that India-based Cochin Shipyard will build its new hybrid-electric service operations vessel (SOV), bound for EnBW on a decade-long minimum charter at offshore wind farm in Germany.The contract award for Cochin Shipyard follows the one secured by North Star from EnBW on February 1, 2024, which outlines the engagement of the SOV at the He Dreiht offshroe wind farm.The hybrid-electric newbuild is of VARD 407 design which has been tailored to meet EnBW’s…

Danish vessel owner Esvagt has secured a service contract with Vestas for Ecowende’s Hollandse Kust (west) offshore wind farm in the Netherlands, and started the process of designing and building the new service operation vessel (SOV).The newbuild will be the sixth purpose-built SOV for Vestas, reaffirming the partnership between the two companies that have been cooperating since 2010.The Hollandse Kust (west), developed by Ecowende - a joint venture between Shell and Eneco, will consist of 52 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of over 760MW.

Danish shipowner CBED has acquired two SOVs which are expected to be delivered end of Q1 2024. Following delivery from seller, Dutch-based shipping company Vroon, both Wind Evolution (formerly Vos Start) and Wind Creation (formerly Vos Stone) will be dry-docked for refurbishing, name change and painting according to the CBED fleet design. They will be ready to take on new walk-to-work, IRM and subsea projects starting Q2 2024. The parties have chosen not to disclose the sales amount.

UK-based offshore vessel designer Chartwell Marine has partnered with a designer and shipbuilder of specialized vessels, VARD, to introduce the Midi-SOV: a "revolutionary" 55-meter offshore wind craft. "Coming to both the US and European markets in 2024, the vessel represents the combined expertise of the respective crew transfer vessel (CTV) and SOV design leaders — providing a brand-new solution to the ongoing challenge of expanding wind power across the globe. The vessel is designed Jones Act-compliant…

James Fisher and Sons plc and Graig Shipping PLC unveiled a new service operation vessel (SOV) design concept, the Ulstein Twin X-Stern named ULSTEIN SX221 Diamond SOV to support the UK’s target of 50GW of offshore wind energy generation by 2030.The concept is the result of collaboration by the Diamond Consortium, a collaboration between James Fisher and Graig with support from DNV and design partner, Ulstein Design Solutions. The result will provide a future-proof design to address…

Norwegian ship propulsion specialist Brunvoll will supply azimuth propulsion and maneuvering system for Esvagt's green fuel SOV, to be built in Turkey.The vessel, a HAV Design 833 SOV, will be built at Cemre Shipyard. The Danish vessel owner Esvagt has said that the vessel will be "the world’s first service operation vessel that can operate on green fuels."Brunvoll's delivery will be propulsion azimuth thrusters, retractable azimuth thrusters, tunnel thruster and BruCon condition…

Vallianz Holdings Limited entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Royal IHC to design and build a next generation service operation vessel (SOV) to support offshore wind farms.Designed by Royal IHC, the battery hybrid SOV will house advanced levels of integration and autonomy, designed to be ready for true zero emission operations by using full battery offshore charging system and alternative fuels for propulsion.The SOV will have a dynamic positioning system, a motion compensated gangway and crane, an elevator tower as well as a daughter craft with step-less boat landing.

Danish offshore wind farm developer Ørsted has signed a 15-year contract with Ta San Shang Marine, chartering the shipping company to build the world's first-ever Taiwan-flagged service operation vessel (SOV) for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of Ørsted's Greater Changhua offshore wind farms.Ta San Shang Marine is a joint venture of Taiwan's Ta Tong Marine Group (TTM) and Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL),"This charter contract represents the first-ever bespoke SOV in Taiwan and in Asia Pacific.