Norwind Offshore Expands Fleet with Versatile Offshore Wind Support Vessel
Norwind Offshore, an offshore vessel company formed in late 2021 by Norway's Farstad, Volstad, and Kleven to be focused purely on offshore wind, has taken delivery of the first of four Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) built by Vard.
The delivery ceremony took place Monday, in Ålesund, on the west coast of Norway. The naming ceremony was attended by representatives of Norwind Offshore, as well as from Vard, various suppliers and business partners.
“This is a red-letter day for us,” said Norwind Offshore’s CEO, Svein Leon Aure. “The Norwind Gale is the first newbuild, but the second vessel in our five-vessel fleet program.”
The first vessel is the Norwind Breeze service operation vessel, delivered in May 2022. Before the conversion, the service operation vessel used to be a platform supply vessel, previously known as MMA Responder.
Credit: Torbjørn Sandbakk
As for the Norwind Gale, delivered June 12, 2023, it is the first of two CSOVs that Vard is building for Norwind Offshore.
The vessel is purpose-built and equipped to act as a versatile platform for support services during the construction, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
The vessel is of the VARD 4 19 design, developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, with the focus on onboard logistics, safety, comfort and superior functionality. The Norwind Gale’s hull was built at Vard Braila in Romania, and the vessel was equipped and completed at Vard Brattvåg.
The Norwind Gale has already secured a contract for the next 12 months, and will go straight from the naming ceremony into operation for a Danish energy company.
Also, Norwind Offshore's fleet is set to grow further, with plans to have five vessels by 2025.
The Norwind Gale specs:
● Length: 85 m
● Breadth: 19.5 m
● Accommodation: capacity for 87 people in single cabins,
with the potential to increase to 120 people
● Equipped with a 3D movement-compensated gangway
system with integrated logistics solution and 3D crane.
● Hybrid battery propulsion system
● RIM drive thruster and propulsion system
● Prepared for tomorrow’s energy carriers
