Cemre shipyard in Turkey has delivered Groenewind, a service operation vessel (SOV) for DEME that is unlike any other built to date
Groenewind is the first SOV with a small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) hullform, a type of hull shape DEME believes will provide windfarm technicians with a more comfortable ride.
The SOV is DEME’s first. The design was developed by DEME in close co-operation with Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam and Maritime Research Institute Netherlands. A keel-laying ceremony for the innovative vessel took place on 13 December 2019.
The SWATH hullform will reduce the effect on the vessel of wave impacts when approaching wind turbines, compared with a conventional monohull SOV. The vessel will enable safe crew transfers in significant wave heights of up to 2.5 m.
At 60 m long, the SOV will be equipped with a motion-compensated gangway and daughter craft to safely transfer technicians to wind turbines, increasing the workability and logistics capabilities of the vessel.
Groenewind is also designed according to the latest comfort standards, allowing the vessel to be a comfortable offshore base for up to 24 technicians plus crew.
In a statement released when the vessel was ordered, DEME said environmental considerations were also an important element of the design with among other things, a waste heat recovery system fitted, and the adoption of Clean Design class notation.
“With DP2 dynamic positioning technology, the vessel will be able to hold position in rough sea conditions and operate with reduced fuel consumption compared to conventional SOVs,” DEME claimed. “A reduction of fuel consumption up to 50% can be achieved compared to a monohull SOV.”
DEME Offshore business unit director Michael Glavind said, “We believe the twin-hulled design, a motion-compensated gangway and dynamic positioning is a winning combination and will further reduce the cost of windfarm maintenance compared to large monohulls.
“With this first SOV joining our fleet, we are further strengthening our capabilities and are able to offer the full offshore wind package, from installation to maintenance.”
The SOV will be chartered by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy as part of a long-term maintenance contract for the Rentel and Mermaid & Seastar (SeaMade) offshore windfarms in Belgium. This is the first SOV to serve three different windfarms.
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