Orsted Chooses CWind Hybrid SES

Offshore wind farms service provider has signed a long-term charter contract agreement with Ørsted, to deliver the world’s first hybrid powered Surface Effect Ship (SES) to Borssele 1 and 2 offshore wind farms.

The agreement between Ørsted and CWind, part of the Global Marine Group, covers an initial three-year firm charter with options available for a further two years.

The Hybrid SES crew transfer vessel will be operating from the Dutch port of Vlissingen, to Borssele 1 and 2, located 23km from the Dutch coast in the North Sea.

The development of the Hybrid SES for use as a crew transfer vessel is in response to an industry-wide push to develop and deploy innovative technologies that reduce CO2 emissions, whilst cost effectively servicing windfarms located further offshore.

CWind’s Hybrid SES crew transfer vessel achieves this through a combination of electric and diesel propulsion which, when combined with the surface effect hull form and heave compensation technology, is able to operate in sea states of up to 2.0m Hs, whilst decreasing fuel burn and CO2.  

The Hybrid SES is, therefore, able to deliver crew faster to these sites and with improved comfort, resulting in increased operation days offshore for our client’s O&M and construction activities.

Ian Bryan, Managing Director, Group Business Operations said: “We are delighted to announce the agreement with Ørsted, and look forward to delivering the world’s first Hybrid SES for them in 2020. Our development of the vessel has been driven by listening to the market and our customers who want a greener, safer and more efficient Crew Transfer Vessel to support their commercial and green objectives.”

The new CWind Hybrid SES will enable Ørsted to not only deliver and service windfarms efficiently through reduced transit times, but it also supports Ørsted’s ambition of a world that runs entirely on green energy.

The Hybrid SES crew transfer vessel was developed in partnership with ESNA, a ship design company based in Kristiansand, Norway. ESNA specializes in surface effect vessel development to deliver commercially competitive vessels with significant carbon reductions by design.