Ørsted has signed a 15-year contract with Ta San Shang Marine Co Ltd, a joint venture of Taiwan’s Ta Tong Marine Group (TTM) and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), that will see it charter the world’s first Taiwan-flagged service operation vessel (SOV)
The vessel will be chartered for operations and maintenance on Ørsted’s Greater Changhua offshore windfarms. The deal also represents the first bespoke SOV for use in Taiwan and in the Asia Pacific region as a whole.
Scheduled for delivery in early 2022, the SOV will use the Port of Taichung as its base, where Ørsted’s future O&M facilities will be located, due to its proximity to the sites, water depth and navigational access.
Ørsted Asia Pacific Taiwan general manager Christy Wang said, “Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore windfarms around the world and is pioneering and driving offshore wind development in Taiwan.
“Not only are we building the O&M base at Port of Taichung, we are also taking the lead in the region by deploying a bespoke SOV. More importantly, this SOV contract has given the Taiwanese vessel supplier a unique opportunity to tap into state-of-the-art technology in the offshore wind industry."
Mitsui OSK general manager offshore Yasuchika Noma said, “We are excited to work with Ta Tong Marine Group and Ørsted to build the SOV for Ørsted’s Greater Changhua windfarms. This marks an important step in expanding our presence in Taiwan’s offshore wind industry.”
The SOV is the first to be built to operate in the challenging and sometimes harsh environment in the Taiwan Strait. It will house up to 60 windfarm technicians plus crew and will only need to return to shore once a month.
The vessel will be prepared for fossil fuel-free operation and have an optimised hull design and a battery-hybrid setup to help reduce fuel consumption and reduce its carbon footprint.
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