Mission Equipment News

Dutch offshore equipment supplier SMST has secured a new contract from Norwegian shipbuilder Vard for the delivery of two sets of mission equipment to be installed on an additional two of North Star’s newbuild Service Operation Vessels (SOVs).These vessels are part of a long-term charter agreement between shipowner and operator North Star and energy company RWE.SMST previously supplied similar equipment for the first two CSOVs, the Grampian Eagle and Grampian Kestrel, which are also set to operate for RWE.RWE…

MacArtney Offshore Wind Solutions, in collaboration with Subsea Cable Assets (SCA) and Enersea, has secured the contract to design and deliver a fully integrated cable lay spread, a tailored solution for N-Sea’s new cable laying vessel (CLV), Altera.The project will combine MacArtney’s advanced mission equipment and control systems, SCA’s fabrication and EPCI expertise, and Enersea’s deck layout and integration design.It is expected to result a turnkey system designed to enhance operational efficiency…

Dutch offshore equipment supplier SMST has been selected by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) for the delivery of two sets of mission equipment, with an option for a third set, for service operation vessels (SOVs) ordered by Vattenfall.The Telescopic Access Bridges (TAB-L1), Access and Cargo Towers (ACT) and the 5t Motion Compensated Cranes (MCC-M) will be supplied to LDA’s newbuild SOVs.The by Salt designed vessels, to be built at Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company (ZPMC)…

The offshore construction program for ScottishPower’s biggest-ever renewables project is officially underway with the installation of the first foundation for the green energy company’s USD$5.3 billion (£4 billion) East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm.Standing at 83.89 meters tall, 10.6 meters in diameter and weighing 1,800 tons, the monopile also represents a new offshore wind industry record, becoming the largest installed to date from a jack-up vessel in Europe.The monopile…

Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam launched its new Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) series.A standout projects in the Vuyk Engineering portfolio is the Groenewind, the world's first DP2 twin-hulled SWATH SOV. Developed in collaboration with DEME, this vessel is designed to operate efficiently in high sea states, featuring a slender hull that minimizes fuel consumption, advanced DP2 technology for precise positioning, and a motion-compensated gangway for safe crew transfers.

WIND Group has announced that equipment engineering and manufacturing company Draftec will join the WIND family. Together, they will enhance the support and services provided to their shared clients in international offshore and renewable projects.Draftec was founded in 2009 by Martijn Boone who, together with fellow Director Martijn Holtkamp, will continue to manage the company, bringing with them extensive experience in mechanical design, hydraulic and electrical systems and control system software and automation.Over the years…

Prysmian's Monna Lisa vessel, being build by Vard, has reached Norway for final outfitting, installation of main mission equipment and trials, before becoming fully operational in 2025.The 171-meter-long cable laying vessel (CLV) arrived to Norway after travelling 4,000 nautical miles around Europe for 28 days, following its launch at Vard’s shipyard in Tulcea Romania.The vessel was towed down the Danube River, across the Mediterranean Sea, and up the coast of Portugal and Spain…

Corvus Energy has been selected by HAF Power Solutions (HPS) to supply Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for the Energy Subsea Construction Vessel (ESCV) to be built for shipowner REM Offshore.The new ESCV is of ST-245 design and will be the first vessel to perform heavy construction work in both offshore wind and the subsea market with net zero emissions. The vessel will be equipped with dual-fuel methanol engines and a 1.7MW battery system. The batteries will be used for spinning…

The end may be in sight, but the race for bigger cranes is still having an impact on offshore wind project efficiency.The industry has already felt the need for upgrading crane lifting capacity on existing offshore wind installation vessels: NOV is upgrading the cranes on Cadeler’s existing O-class wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs), and a gantry crane extension will soon make Van Oord’s Svanen one of the largest floating heavy-lift installation vessels.It’s a newbuild phenomenon too. NOV has developed a telescoping leg encircling crane for Shimizu’s GustoMSC-designed WTIV Blue Wind.

NOV has unveiled a new installation vessel concept design tailored specifically for the unique challenges of the emerging floating offshore wind sector.Floating wind farms are often farther offshore, in deeper waters and in harsher environments, therefore requiring new and robust installation strategies.According to NOV, its new floating wind installation vessel (FWIV) concept—part of GustoMSC's Enhydra offshore wind support vessel series—is designed to operate safely, effectively and longer in the harshest environments and deep waters.

Subsea 7's recently delivered Seaway Alfa Lift offshore wind foundation installation vessel is in transit to Europe and is expected to join Subsea 7's fleet in the third quarter of 2023.The semi-submersible heavy installation vessel, designed by Ulstein, will be used to install the next-generation XXL offshore wind foundations.The newbuild heavy lift crane vessel Seaway Alfa Lift (CMHI-207), was originally ordered in 2018 by OHT on speculation. OHT eventually became part of Subsea…

Dutch offshore equipment supplier SMST has been awarded a contract by Damen Shipyards to deliver two sets of mission equipment for the two newbuild Elevation Series CSOVs for Windcat Offshore. SMST will deliver a gangway combined with access & cargo tower and "world’s largest" 3D Motion compensated crane.The Elevation Series CSOVs have been designed by Damen Shipyards in cooperation with Windcat and CMB.TECH.

Ship design company Ulstein Design & Solutions has designed an offshore wind installation vessel that it says is "a safer, smarter, and more competitive ship design solution for transporting, upending and installing large monopiles on DP."The patent-pending U-STERN design, according to the company, enables longitudinal storage of monopiles and upending in the ship center line. "This allows the ship to head into the waves during the installation process, minimizing ship motions and fuel consumption, while the U-STERN provides excellent shielding from the waves.

NOV's Marine and Construction business unit has come up with a "new and flexible" Modular Service and Operations Vessel (MSOV) concept to "optimize offshore wind farm operations and maintenance." NOV says the vessel's features resemble those of a sea otter."The Enhydra series design characteristics resemble the sea otter's (Enhydra) unique and physical behavioral features. The sea otter is the sole marine mammal to use tools, and it uses its streamlined body design to efficiently perform deep dives to the seafloor and adapt its lung capacity to float effectively on the surface…

Classification society Bureau Veritas has successfully reviewed a 3D design of a 2500 m³ hopper dredger from Damen Shipyards, being a step to granting it approval in principle. The pilot project for 3D model-based class approval is meant to pave the way toward using three dimensional computer designs as standard procedure to achieve class notation for seagoing vessels.Vessel steel hull Design evaluation based on 3D models in parallel to its classification review process has become possible thanks to the new data exchange format - OCX.

Marco Polo Marine, the Singapore-based marine logistics company, has awarded SMST the contract for the delivery of a gangway and a crane for its offshore wind Commissioning Service Operations Vessel (CSOV). The vessel will be used in commissioning works during the construction of offshore wind farms, as well as maintenance operations. SMST’s mission equipment consisting of an Access & Cargo Tower with a motion-compensated gangway, the so-called Telescopic Access Bridge L-Series…

Norwegian-based shipbuilding and design group Ulstein has unveiled the design for a new foundation installation vessel enabling operators and contractors to efficiently transport and install monopiles or jacket foundations up to 5,000 tons.The new ULSTEIN HX122 vessel features an ULSTEIN X-BOW and an ultra-high-capacity 8,000 mt crane, engineered for the next generation of foundations in the offshore wind industry.Market analysts and brokers have flagged a projected shortage of foundation installation vessels as existing tonnage and newbuild orders are expected to lag behind projected demand.

Kongsberg Maritime has launched EcoAdvisor, an intelligent and dynamic decision support system for optimizing a range of offshore vessel operations. "EcoAdvisor is an outcome of a joint ‘Intelligent Efficiency’ research project between Kongsberg Maritime, vessel operator DOF Subsea AS (DOF), Sintef, NORCE, and Innovation Norway, with the aim of developing technologies to monitor and reduce the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions during vessel operations," Kongsberg Maritime said.It monitors the vessel operation and its environment…

Offshore installation firm Jan De Nul Group has awarded the Italian engineering firm Remazel a contract for the delivery of a set of cradles, a skidding system and an upending hinge for its new offshore installation vessel Les Alizés to handle and install large monopiles."The design of this fully automated monopile installation system is tailor-made for Les Alizés and ideally suited to work in challenging weather conditions and harsh sea states. This mission equipment will allow Les Alizés to safely and efficiently install monopiles in offshore conditions…

Offshore installation specialist Jan De Nul Group has ordered a high-end crane simulator for two of its Next Generation Offshore Installation Vessels Voltaire and Les Alizés.According to Jan De Nul, the crane simulator will be based on real physics and the actual vessel models, enabling Jan De Nul to train its crewmembers and realistically simulate complex offshore installations in a completely safe environment, in the most severe conditions. The partner for the development of this simulator is the Norway-based company OSC AS (previously known as Offshore Simulator Centre).

Canadian firm Autoship Systems Corporation (ASC) in cooperation with its Norwegian reseller, Coastdesign Norway (CDN), has developed an offshore stability software for jack-up vessels called - the Autoload® - Jack Up version and has won a contract to install the solution onboard Seaway 7’s first self-propelled jack-up vessel, VIND 1. Autoload is also installed onboard their entire fleet of vessels which include open deck semi-submersible heavy transportation vessels, cable lay, heavy lift crane installation, and Installation support vessels, Autoship Systems said.

Offshore vessel designer GustoMSC, part of NOV, has launched a next-generation heavy lift crane vessel series called ENSIS, planned for foundation installation for the offshore wind farms of the future."GustoMSC's new ENSIS heavy lift crane vessel series addresses the needs of the growing offshore wind foundation market. With monopiles and jackets increasing in size and weight and the continuous need for efficiency in installation, a new generation of vessels is needed," GustoMSC…

U.S. shipbuilder Philly Shipyard has won a contract from the dredging giant Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company to build a Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel that will serve the growing U.S. offshore wind market.The contract award, first in the U.S. offshore wind space for the shipyard, is worth around $197 million. Great Lakes, the U.S. largest dredging services provider, will have a right of first refusal on a second ship. If both ships are ordered, then the total contract value of the two-ship program would be around $382 million."Over the past several years…