Norwegian company Norside Wind AS has given SMST a contract for the delivery of a motion compensated gangway joined with an Access & Cargo Tower to be installed on a platform supply vessel which will be converted to a walk-to-work vessel for the offshore wind industry.
Back in January, Norside acquired Farland , a vessel of Ulstein’s PX121 design. The PSV will be redesigned into a walk-to-work vessel with crane functionality for transferring cargo of up to 3t, a new accomodation module, a battery package, and will operate under the name Norside Cetus .
The delivery of the gangway, the SMST Telescopic Access Bridge L-Series (TAB-L), with Access & Cargo Tower is planned for the third quarter of 2022.
The equipment is set to combine important features that ensure deployability in all current and future offshore wind parks.
“The TAB-L with automation packages and electrical height adjustment system that operates on both sides of the vessel is definitely futureproof” , said Jelle Dijk , Sales Manager at SMST .
The contract is a continuation of the cooperation between Norside Wind AS and SMST which started last year with the first contract for supplying a similar set of walk-to-work equipment, for the newly converted Norside Supporter . Norside Supporter has been equipped with a 23-metre-long gangway system for walk-to-work operations, increased accommodation facilities, and boat landing for crew transfer vessels (CTVs), among other things.
“After a successful delivery of the gangway package for the Norside Supporter, we returned to SMST for a second set of their equipment. We believe that their walk-to-work solution complements the PX121 design and increases the performance level of the vessel’s operations. And above all, guarantees safe transfer of crew and cargo” , said Hans Martin Gravdal , CEO at Norside Wind AS.