The hull of one of Siemens’ new service operation vessels (SOVs) is on its way towards Norwegian Havyard shipyard, where it is supposed to arrive any day now.
On July 19, 2014, the hull was launched at the Cemre shipyard in Turkey, reported Ingo Bischof, Siemens’ Project Manager for Offshore Service Germany in charge of the implementation of the SOV-based services, who will also be an Operation Manager for one of the wind farms that will be serviced by the new SOVs.
In Norway, the engine, hydraulics, electronics, and the entire interior will be fitted into the vessel. After that, the SOV will undergo a number of sea trials before it is officially launched. Testing phase at sea is scheduled to begin in January 2015.
“There have been no such vessels for servicing offshore wind power plants so far, only much smaller ones, so we’re really breaking new ground with everything we do,” Bischof said.
The company’s latest agreement signed includes the use of one of its new SOVs in servicing the Sandbank offshore wind farm, after Vattenfall yesterday ordered 72 of Siemens’ 4 MW turbines and contracted it to perform maintenance services on the Sandbank installations for an initial period of five years.
DanTysk wind farm, already in an advanced stage of construction, lies only 20 kilometers away from the Sandbank offshore wind farm. Therefore, the SOV will take up position between the Sandbank and DanTysk offshore wind farms, utilizing joint operations to drive down the maintenance costs of both projects.
Last year, Siemens signed a chartering agreement with shipowner Esvagt A/S for two new offshore wind service vessels, which are being commissioned specifically for Siemens’ service operations at the Butendiek and Baltic II offshore wind farms in Germany, both of which are scheduled to come online in 2015.
Bischof said: “Even though our SOVs are Comfort Class 2 vessels equipped with an anti-rolling concept to keep the crews from getting seasick and from being assailed by loud engine noise, wellbeing in the often harsh and somewhat unfriendly maritime environment requires much more.
“You have to keep in mind that the service teams on the SOVs will remain out at sea for several weeks. So you have to provide an adequate infrastructure on the vessels, from washing machines and a gym to an onboard IT infrastructure that enables the crew to stay in touch with their loved ones on the mainland and to watch the football matches of their favorite teams live.”