Posted on December 6, 2021
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is to use an Otto Candies LLC Jones Act-compliant offshore IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair vessel), the Paul Candies, during the construction phase of the South Fork Wind project, offshore New York.
Brigitte Hagen-Peter, marine assets and operations manager for SGRE, revealed the plan yesterday at an ABS panel discussion on offshore wind held in New Orleans where much off the focus was on the high cost of building vessels such as SOVs (service operations vessels) in the U.S.
“We don’t have the project pipeline at this point” to support a newbuild project, said Hagen-Peter. Instead, she said, Siemens Gamesa reached out to U.S. operators, setting the challenge “Here’s our operational requirements, show us what you can do.”
As yet, more details of what the Paul Candies will be doing, or how it will be modified, have yet to emerge, However, the 101.2-meter vessel, delivered in 2018 by Candies Shipbuilders, has some impressive capabilities.
“We are very excited about utilizing the Paul Candies,” Hagen-Peter says.
