China's First Purpose-built Offshore Wind SOVs Delivered

Shanghai Electric earlier this month celebrated the combined naming and delivery of two service operation vessels (SOV) at ZPMC, Qidong base, China. The vessels are based on two different ship designs from Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and are the first purpose-designed vessels for the offshore wind industry in China.

The Zhi Cheng 60 is an ULSTEIN SX197 design measuring 72.6m in length and 17.5m in beam. It can accommodate 60 people and has a deck area of 400 sqm.

The Zhi Zhen 100 is based on the larger ULSTEIN SX195 design. With a length of 93.4m and a beam of 18m, it can accommodate up to 100 people and boasts a total deck area of 620 sqm.

Both vessels are designed with the X-BOW and X-STERN solutions for optimal seakeeping characteristics. Each is outfitted with a battery energy storage system and a DC-based Common Main Drive System, which accommodate the main propulsion drives, the thruster drives and the main distribution system, and high-capacity DP2 dynamic positioning systems. They also feature walk-to-work motion-compensated gangways, offshore cranes, and high-speed daughter crafts.

Liu Xiangnan, Vice President of Wind Power Company at Shanghai Electric, said, "Close collaborations among Ulstein, the yard ZPMC and Shanghai Electric have set a strong foundation for the projects. Shanghai Electric is the leading provider of offshore wind turbines in China. With these two world-class SOVs, we believe we can bring more value to our clients and provide a safer working environment to our colleagues at sea."

Managing Director Runar Muren at Ulstein Design & Solutions AS, said, “Our collaboration with the ZPMC shipyard dates back to 2012. Together with Shanghai Electric, we are dedicated to our vision: We create tomorrow's solutions for sustainable marine operations. We firmly believe that the vessels will be important assets in the sustainable development of the domestic offshore wind industry in China."