Vroon’s VOS Start starts mobilizing in Amsterdam shipyard

VOS Start

JUNE 6, 2017 — Breda, Netherlands, headquartered Vroon reports that VOS Start, the company’s first subsea-support walk-to-work vessel, has arrived in Amsterdam.

The 80 m x 18.4 m vessel, which was built at China’s Fujian Southeast Shipbuilding, is now at Damen Shiprepair, where she will be mobilized with a motion-compensated gangway system and an active heave-compensated crane.

VOS Start has been purpose built to support offshore operations in the renewables industry and walk-to-work projects in the oil & gas industry.

Offshore wind parks consist of as many as 100 individual wind turbines, connected by infield cables to transformer stations. The construction and commissioning of an offshore wind park requires many visits to each individual turbine. Such operations demand a vessel like VOS Start: offering accommodations for the client teams, office space for engineering and project managers, a warehouse to store materials and tools and an on-board workshop to prepare for day-to-day tasks. Most important is an access system that guarantees safe transfer for the teams and their material to and from the wind turbines.

Vroon says clients may spend a minimum of 14 days on board, meaning that multimedia and hotel standards onshore have become the norm for offshore operations. That makes excellent wi-fi connection a must and to ensure optimum client and crew comfort outside working hours, VOS Start is equipped with a cinema and a gym.

VOS Start will shortly be delivered to her first charterer, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, for the supply of offshore logistics support, accommodation and walk-to-work services during construction of the Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm in the Irish Sea, with installations of the turbines and commissioning scheduled to commence in summer 2017.

Sister vessel, VOS Stone, will be delivered to Vroon by Fujian Southeast Shipbuilding in China in the near future.

Another VOS vessel, VOS Prime, a multirole vessel is currently being mobilized with an access system. This vessel type is equipped with a large deck space, underdeck cargo systems and can carry up to 40 client personnel. VOS Prime will commence a charter later this month, supporting the planned maintenance campaign for a transformer station in the Dutch Sector.