The Harren & Partner Group has launched SAL Renewables as a specialised provider for offshore wind services and installation with the addition of the jack-up vessel Wind Lift I to its fleet.
Born as a sister company to the heavy lift shipping company SAL Heavy Lift, SAL Renewables focuses on the offshore maintenance and installation of wind turbines and their corresponding components.
The Harren & Partner Group is already established as a logistics provider to contractors and turbine manufacturers in the offshore wind sector. “Today, SAL Renewables opens its doors as a supplier of specialised vessels as well as maintenance and installation solutions to the offshore wind industry.“
Based in Bremen, SAL Renewables launches with a specialised vessel in its fleet: the Wind Lift I – a 2010-built dynamic positioning (DP) jack-up crane vessel suited for offshore wind maintenance projects as well as the installation of wind turbine parts. The vessel has a 500 t capacity, high outreach offshore crane and a fully equipped accommodation block for up to 50 people.
“Wind Lift I represents an important enhancement of our fleet. It extends our scope of action to provide our customers with comprehensive, yet customised solutions,” says Heiko Felderhoff, Managing Director of SAL Renewables. “Wind Lift I is a highly adaptable vessel. There are only a few things that it can’t do, it’s kind of like a Swiss army knife. This asset makes for a great start for our new venture with SAL Renewables.”
Matthieu Moerman, Head of Projects at SAL Renewables, adds: “Megawatts capacity of wind parks keep increasing and old wind parks will need to be renewed with new turbines or decommissioned. With Wind Lift I we are not only targeting the installation and maintenance market but also decommissioning and upgrading of old existing wind parks.”
The Wind Lift I was recently deployed by SAL for a hydraulic hammer test as part of an offshore wind project in the North Sea. In addition to Wind Lift I, SAL Renewables also holds access to the offshore DP2 heavy lift ship Blue Giant.
The company says that SAL Renewables is not involved in any traditional heavy lift shipping operations, which are performed by SAL Heavy Lift as the transport and logistics arm. As such, SAL Renewables is a perfect complement to SAL’s existing services – providing a comprehensive, complete maritime solution for the offshore wind industry.
Dr. Martin Harren, Managing Director of Harren & Partner, explains the strategy behind the founding of SAL Renewables and the acquisition of Wind Lift I: “Wind power has been a cornerstone of our business in the past few years, and we continue to see significant projects here. The world’s demand for energy is higher than ever before, and a major energy transition is currently underway. The projects resulting from this change are crucial to our business. SAL Renewables is a perfect supplement to our established logistics business, but also something new. By offering maintenance and component installation services predominantly for the wind turbines themselves, we are expanding our total service offerings to the global renewables market while also meeting the toughest individual demands and expectations in the offshore markets.”
