With offshore wind maturing rapidly, so are the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) requirements to keep offshore wind farms operating efficiently. While O&M is common in the industry, the rapid expansion and maturity of installed wind farms in recent years have increased the need for heavy O&M and main component exchange or replacement. Consequently, the demand for vessels supporting these activities is increasing and is expected to continue growing.

To meet this demand safely and efficiently, GustoMSC has been developing specific solutions for these activities. There are jack-ups and vessels dedicated to heavy O&M operating at the moment; however, most heavy O&M has been carried out by “jack-ups and vessels of opportunity” in the past, both in main component replacement and activities such as cable repair. With high demand for both the construction of wind farms and increasing demand on the O&M side, this is expected to become more challenging.