A new service operations vessel (SOV) was launched at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for French vessel owners Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA).
Upon delivery in 2021, the 84-meter SOV Wind of Hope will go to work for Danish wind energy giant Ørsted servicing its Hornsea Two offshore wind farm, with accommodations for up to 64 technicians who will service and maintain the wind turbines and an additional vessel crew. The ship is expected to arrive at Ørsted’s east coast operations and maintenance facility at the U.K. port of Grimsby next year.
Morten Holm, Head of Operations for Hornsea Two at Ørsted, said, “Technicians will spend two weeks at a time onboard this vessel as they live, eat and sleep onboard whilst working offshore. The Wind of Hope has been designed with comfort and practicality in mind and we look forward to welcoming her to her new home in Grimsby.”
The SOV is two meters larger than the new Hornsea Two blades which have been manufactured locally at Siemens Gamesa’s blade factory in Hull.
Working as an accommodation base, the Wind of Hope has been fitted with a number of modifications intended to ensure that shift patterns offshore are as comfortable as possible for the crew.
A motion compensated gangway allows technicians to walk to work from the ship directly onto the transition piece of the turbine they are required to access, while the onboard helideck enables efficient crew and cargo transfers to take place.
After the SOV launching ceremony that took place on September 21, the Wind of Hope is expected to arrive at Ørsted’s east coast operations and maintenance facility at the U.K. port of Grimsby next year. (Photo: LDA)
Length: 84 m
Breadth: 19.4 m
Depth: 7 m
Design draft: 5 m
Propulsion: Diesel-electric, DP2 Dynamic Positioning
Accommodation: Capacity of 90 persons including up to 64 windfarm technicians.
Vessel’s transfer specifications:
• A daughter craft with a capacity of 8 technicians and 1 ton of cargo
• A motion compensated gangway (about 19m range)
• A motion compensated crane (1 ton at 23 m)
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