Posted on November 2, 2022
The SX 175 design offshore wind service operation vessel (SOV) Windea Leibniz is back at Norway’s Ulstein Verft for an upgrade. After installation of an adjustable pedestal for the gangway, and a 50% increase in single cabins for charterers, the vessel will be ready for assignments in the Baltic Sea as well as the North Sea, and with a status as a Construction-SOV (CSOV).
“The vessel was delivered by Ulstein Verft in 2017 and appears brand new, as if delivered yesterday,” says Bernhard Schulte Offshore Managing Director Matthias Müller. “The quality and finish are outstanding. That is one of the reasons why we choose to do the upgrade at Ulstein Verft.”
“After the conversion, this will be one of very few vessels with 60 single cabins for charterers, compared to the current 40,” says Müller. “This means that we can take more people in, enabling the vessel to operate as a Construction-SOV. Further, the installation of an adjustable pedestal for the Uptime gangway means that the vessel can cater all TP (transition piece) heights of the North Sea. Furthermore, it will be one of the few purpose-built SOVs which can work in the Baltic Sea which has lower TP heights.”
“She has successfully worked five years for Siemens Gamesa, performing efficient service at the Sandbank and DanTysk offshore wind farms as part of their Service Train Concept,” he says. “After that, she did a summer campaign for GE at the Merkur Offshore wind farm. Lately, she has supported the installation of the infield cables for a wind farm under construction in the Baltic Sea.”
The Windea Leibniz arrived at Ulstein Verft on October 31 and the upgrade to CSOV is scheduled for completion in February 2023.
“We have high expectations of this vessel, she is already a top-of-the-class vessel with high environmental capability’s well above 2.5 meters Hs and a very low fuel oil consumption in DP mode due to the installed Siemens Blue Drive. Now we intend to further strengthen her operational flexibility,” says Müller.
SOV returned to Ulstein Verft on October 31
