VARD, one of the world’s major designers and shipbuilders of specialized vessels, has secured contracts for the design and construction of three Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for North Star Renewables in Scotland. The state-of-the-art hybrid trio will operate on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea, according to the company's release.
The SOVs were developed by VARD in close cooperation with Aberdeen-based North Star, which has secured 10-year charter contracts for the trio from Dogger Bank Wind Farm in a broad international competition. The charters include options for three one-year extensions. Dogger Bank is currently under construction by joint-venture partners SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni and when completed will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Two of Vard Design concept designers, Thomas Brathaug and Stian Ona, have intimate knowledge of the vessels having spent many man-hours turning specifications into reality. Brathaug says one will be of the VARD 4 19 design and the other two of its VARD 4 12 design.
The 85-metre vessel has a beam of 19 metres and will be able to accommodate 78 crew members in single cabins.
Developed to perform corrective maintenance on Dogger Bank and based on the same design philosophy, the other VARD 4 12 pair will be 78 metres in length with a beam of 19 metres and accommodation for 60 persons in single cabins.
For optimal efficiency, the hybrid vessels will be equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system, highly efficient main propellers, and tunnel thrusters with permanent magnet electric motors in combination with SeaQ solutions supplied by Vard Electro in Norway.
They will feature a fully integrated SeaQ ESS solution in combination with SeaQ IAS, SeaQ PMS, SeaQ EMS, and SeaQ Green Pilot (energy monitoring system) for improved operational performance and reduced environmental footprint. The set-up makes it possible to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, in addition to enhance responsiveness and safety.
The three SOVs are set for handover to North Star in 2023. They will be built at VARD’s Vard Vung Tau shipyard in Vietnam, which has an excellent track record in on-schedule delivery of a broad portfolio of offshore and specialized vessels. Various suppliers within the Norwegian maritime cluster are also involved in the project.