Louis Dreyfus enters offshore wind crew transfer market
Written by Nick Blenkey
Hybrid vessels will be hydrogen ready
France’s Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group and has partnered with U.K.-based Tidal Transit to sign a contract with GE Renewable Energy (GE) for two Crew Transfer Vessels for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.
Designed by Marseille-based naval architect firm the semi-SWATH vessels will fly the French flag and will be be built by French shipyard OCEA a specialist in the construction of aluminum hulled vessels.
LD Tide (a joint venture between Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit) will operate the two CTVs for the transfer of maintenance technicians to the Saint-Nazaire wind farm, carrying 24 technicians on each transit.
Provisional technical characteristics of the two CTVs:
- Length: 26.70 m
- Width: 9.40 m
- Draft: 1.80 m
- 24 technicians
- 3 crew members
- Service speed: > 25 knots
- Cargo capacity: 10 tons
- Propulsion: IMO tier III, hybrid (batteries) and hydrogen ready
Technical innovations / Environmental impact:
- Semi-SWATH hull shape, allowing for better seakeeping performance to facilitate the transfer of technicians in rough seas (2 HS meters) and improve comfort in transit;
- Aluminium construction and addition of a T-Foil (load-bearing plane) to reduce fuel consumption; and
- Connection to shore power during stopovers.
Categories: News, Renewables
