ESVAGT has picked HAV Design, a subsidiary of HAV Group ASA, to develop a service operation vessel (SOV) that will provide support to the offshore wind farms in Ørsted’s UK East Regional programme.
Under the agreement, HAV Design will deliver both the ship design and an integrated equipment package including the propulsion system, engines, propellers, and positioning system.
The newbuild hybrid vessel is of HAV 833 SOV design and will feature a methanol-electric propulsion system, including a battery pack that allows very low to zero-emissions operations.
The SOV will be 93 metres long, 19.6 metres wide, and will accommodate up to 124 persons.
Once commissioned by the end of 2024, the vessel will start servicing the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 2 , off the UK’s east coast.
The total contract value is approximately NOK 200 million.
“As investments in the offshore wind industry are expected to grow substantially in the coming years and decades, with additional vessel capacity required, we expect to see increased interest in the vessel design going forward,” said Gisle Vinjevoll Thrane , vice president of sales at HAV Design.
Ørsted and Esvagt recently decided to invest in what the companies describe as the world’s first SOV that can operate on green fuels.
ESVAGT plans to start building the vessel in the second quarter of 2022. Ørsted intends to supply the e-methanol for the new SOV.