The Offshore Renewables Award is awarded to a company, project or product that has made a significant contribution to the development of the offshore renewables market during 2016.
The 'Windea La Cour' was nominated, and eventually won, the award, much due to its X-STERN aft hull. It is an optimised hull for wind farm operations, as the operator avoids loosing time by turning the vessel and moving slowly backwards.
Reports show that vessels servicing the offshore wind turbines operate backwards at least 50-70 per cent of the time after having arrived at the wind farms. The video below was shot at the vessel's sea trial, where the backing abilities were tested.
The vessel was delivered in 2016, and is in service at the 600 MW Gemini offshore wind power plant in the Netherlands.