DEME celebrated the naming ceremony of the world’s first DP2, twin-hulled offshore wind Service Operation Vessel ‘Groenewind’ in the Port Oostende on Friday. The Belgian Federal Minister of Energy, Tinne Van der Straeten, as godmother of this new vessel, smashed the obligatory bottle of champagne over the bow.
‘Groenewind’ is set to enter service shortly as the vessel is already deployed under a long-term charter contract with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), whereby it will transport technicians to the Rentel and SeaMade offshore wind farms in Belgium.
Improving safety, comfort and workability, the 60 m, Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) Service Operation Vessel (SOV) is equipped with a motion-compensated gangway for the safe transfer of the maintenance technicians to the turbines, even in significant wave heights of up to 2.5 m.
The SWATH design ensures low wave impact on movements when approaching wind turbines. ‘Groenewind’ has a capacity for 24 technicians and a nautical crew. Its DP2 technology means that the vessel can hold its position in rough seas but at the same time operate with lower fuel consumption. An impressive fuel consumption reduction of up to 50% can be achieved compared to a monohull SOV, further reducing the cost of wind farm maintenance. With environmental considerations of utmost importance, the SOV has a waste heat recovery system and a Clean Design notation.
Mathias Verkest, CEO Otary says: “Less than six months after finishing the construction activities of our SeaMade offshore wind farm, I am happy to be part of this naming ceremony of a brand new, state-of-the-art service vessel ‘Groenewind’. The Belgian North Sea – known as our ‘11th province’ – now has a total capacity of 2,262 MW of offshore electricity production, providing 2.2 million Belgian households in our 10 ‘onshore’ provinces with green and clean energy. This makes Belgium one of the largest producers of offshore wind in Europe.”
Otary, which is the operator of both the Rentel offshore wind farm, operational since March 2019, and SeaMade (the largest wind farm in the Belgian North Sea), now has 100 offshore wind turbines in its portfolio, representing an installed capacity of 800 MW. These power plants provide green electricity to 800,000 households.
Mathias Verkest emphasises: “The industry is maturing in a very short time. Wind farms are built faster, bigger, better and cheaper. They are positioned further away from shore and in deeper waters, and of course this not only requires specific technology for the construction phase, but equally during the operational phase enabling wind farm maintenance to be performed in the most efficient, safe and ecological way.”
“With offshore wind we prove that you can be big even if you are a small country. Worldwide, Belgium is the number five in the offshore wind sector and our companies are pioneers with their expertise and technological innovation,” said Tinne Van der Straeten.
