Imagination, Innovation & Investment

The range of offshore wind vessels owned or managed by
the Dutch is probably more comprehensive than that of any other nation. From purpose-built heavy lift semi-submersibles, ships, barges, and other unique vessels capable of lifting loads, such as transformer platform topsides weighing many hundreds of tonnes to crew transfer vessels at the other end of tonnage scale for carrying passengers offshore to wind turbines.

Whatever work you have in the offshore wind industry there is a Dutch company able to do it for you. Cable layers, subsea survey vessels, accommodation vessels, their abilities are as wide as the list is long.

Eight years ago with two offshore wind parks the Dutch were also near the top of the list for offshore wind energy production, however this was followed by a long period of inactivity when other nations in North West Europe overtook their position. However, this did not deter the owners and managers of the vessels from investing and building bigger and better vessels to build this young industry more safely, more easily and much faster. These companies were busy looking to the future and enabling even larger wind farms to be constructed in deeper waters, connected by many hundreds of kilometres of cables to the users of the green electricity in other countries.

Dutch wind farms

There are currently two offshore wind farms being constructed in Dutch waters, both with a heavy influence in construction and operation from Dutch companies. Van Oord has taken up the challenge to become deeply involved in the construction of the Luchterduinen and Gemini wind farms and in the latter has also become one of the investing partners of project. The Gemini project is currently one of the largest wind farms under construction in the world, with 150 turbines having a total capacity of 600 MW, producing 2.6 TWh, sufficient for 785,000 homes with a total 1,540,000 residents. To complete this set of huge numbers the total amount invested by the shareholders is about €500 million.

Van Oord has also invested in the innovative turbine installation vessel, Aeolus, and cable laying vessel Nexus which are now working on these projects, gaining valuable experience in new waters.

1,000,000 safe transfers

Not all the numbers are on such a large scale however. Twelve is the number of passengers, engineers and technicians, that have been able to be taken offshore to turbines on crew transfer vessels (CTVs). That is until recently. There are rules now coming into force for more passengers in certain circumstances, in German waters. However, Windcat Workboats, based in IJmuiden, have managed to make twelve into a large number by having carried out more than 1,000,000 safe personnel transfers using their fleet of CTVs, currently with 36 vessels, which is one of the largest fleets working in this industry. Windcat Workboats have been in the offshore wind industry since 2002 and have a consistent record of designing and building new vessels to add to their fleet.

Acta Marine from Den Helder announced in March this year, that they had acquired the fleet of ten CTVs from Offshore.

Wind Services BV from the Cordia Group. This move strengthened Acta Marine’s position in the offshore wind industry.
A month earlier they had signed a contract for a large Wind Farm Support Vessel to be designed and constructed by
Dutch CIG Shipbuilding. This DP-2, 108-metre-long vessel will provide comfortable accommodation and work space with Ampelmann ‘walk to work’ and light cargo transfer systems for the 75 technicians and engineers. The Acta Orion is due to be delivered in Q4 this year and will be chartered by Van Oord for work on the Gemini project.

Dutch shipyards and boat builders have also provided the industry with many innovative designs. Damen Shipyard based in Gorinchem has become almost a ‘one stop shop’, for building vessels for the wind industry providing the industry with a range of vessels from the FCS 2008, the little sister of the FCS 2610 CTV that has created a new standard since the launch four years ago, to the DOC 8500 which is the base design for the Van Oord cable layer Nexus, delivered earlier this year.

Offshore wind vessels come in many shapes and sizes. Imagination, innovation and investment are words that have been adopted by the Dutch in response to the international demand from this young industry.

Dick Hill