Anglo-Dutch company Offshore Ship Designers has launched an offshore windfarm maintenance concept vessel that it claims will improve uptime of deepwater wind turbines, and reduce servicing costs and carbon emissions.
The company hopes the concept will offer a solution to the problem of carrying out maintenance on multiple wind turbines.
The Sea-Wind WMV vessel design offers a mothership that would remain on station at offshore deepwater windfarms, providing a safe haven for multiple numbers of catamaran workboats to carry engineers to service the turbines.
It is reminiscent of naval assault support ships like the former HMS Fearless.
Montrose-based Neil Patterson, managing director of UK subsidiary OSD-IMT, said: “The Sea-Wind design is a submersible dock ship with a large floodable dock accessible from the stern.
“It will provide accommodation for wind turbine engineers, service personnel, ships and support crew, and can support helicopter operations in addition to its workboat deployment capability.
“Crew change and supplies will be carried out using a dedicated support vessel, with the option to carry out crew changes by using large helicopters normally associated with servicing offshore oil installations.”
The vessel has a claimed service capability of up to 45 wind turbines per day, in wave heights of up to 2.5m.
By remaining on site, rather than returning to port between maintenance visits, the Sea-Wind design would reduce time and fuel consumed during transit to and from port.
That potentially means savings in cost and energy used for maintenance, reduction of non-operational downtime and increased turbine availability.
OSD-IMT said it was at an advanced stage with a European shipping company and a UK ship management firm to deliver the concept to windfarm operators planning large projects, such as UK Round Three, with turbines due for installation in locations more than 100km offshore in some instances.
Patterson: “We have taken the best experience of dock ships and their use in military and commercial situations, and combined it with our extensive experience in designing offshore support vessels.
“The Sea-Wind concept has the engineers and working platforms safely on site, and will have an onboard capacity to carry out larger repairs without returning to land.”
In addition to the workboats, the Sea-Wind WMV vessel design would also support Autonomous Rescue and Recovery Craft (ARRC’s), which are certificated as “places of safety”, and can support marine and helicopter operations which are remote from the mothership.
They have been used by the offshore oil & gas industry for some years.
The largest version of Sea Wind will be around 187m in length. It would be fitted with a DP2 dynamic positioning capability, a dry/wet dock, helicopter support facilities, cranes for loading stores from support vessels and have accommodation for up to 200 engineers.
The design also boasts a cinema, internet room, gymnasium with instructor, sauna, workshops, stores, galley, bakery, cafeteria style mess room, executive mess room, library/quiet room, lounges and coffee corners. Surgeries for a doctor and dentist, a first aid room, offices and briefing rooms are also included.
All accommodation will be in single-berth en-suite cabins, with a mixture of suites, executive client cabins and standard cabins.
Extensive storage and workshop areas will be provided, along with a waste-handling plant fitted with recycling capability, waste compacting, water extraction, packaging and wet/dry incineration facilities.
OSD has been working with a catamaran builder/operator to develop a catamaran workboat designed to work with the Sea-Wind dock ship. It will be fitted with a heave-compensated access walkway for accessing the wind turbines.
The dedicated support vessel working with the Sea-Wind WMV mother ship will be an IMT 9552 wind farm maintenance vessel.
It has logistics support capability to carry and transfer cargo fuel, cargo potable water, aviation fuel and dry and refrigerated stores containers on deck. It also has single-berth accommodation for 25 wind turbine engineers, and is fitted with a crane, heave-compensated access walkway and two daughter workboats. It can be utilised for maintenance on windfarms between supply runs.
OSD and its partners are currently in discussions with major windfarm developers and are seeking tenders for the construction of the vessels.
Recommended for you
