C-bed Floating Hotel’s advanced Service Operation Vessel (SOV), MS Wind Innovation, has successfully completed all offshore testing and is now ready to engage in the commissioning phase of the 600MW Gemini offshore wind farm off the coast of The Netherlands.
The last stage of testing equipment and systems took place offshore the Port of Esbjerg, Denmark, which will also function as home port for Wind Innovation during the entire project contract period.
Final testing of the dynamic positioning system verified the expected operational criteria of 20m/s and 1.5 knots current. Also, the motion compensated gangway system has been thoroughly tested and approved for the expected 3m significant wave height.
Wind Innovation is the result of the extensive conversion of a former seismic survey vessel into a floating four-star hotel and project basecamp. With her DP2 capacity, Comfort Class 3 certification, and uptime compensated gangway system, the SOV is expected to contribute greatly to the completion of the Gemini OWF.
“We are confident that Wind Innovation meets all demands relating to the 2nd and 3rd round offshore wind projects and we have already received a very broad range of interest for the vessel. Compared to our existing fleet, Wind Innovation is a smaller but much more advanced vessel. Normally, our fleet accommodates between 100-150 guests, whereas Wind Innovation has room for 90 people in 80 cabins. However, the ‘walk-to-work’ concept directly connecting the vessel and the wind turbine foundation is definitely the service in demand in the years to come,” said Jesper Nielsen, Managing Director in C-bed A/S.
Van Oord installed the first of 150 turbines at the Gemini OWF on 16 February, and the first electricity from the wind farm expected by the end of this month.
The wind farm is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2017, and it will supply sustainable energy to 785,000 Dutch households.