New North Star SOV will go to work on EnBW’s He Dreiht wind farm

North Star’s new SOV has been tailored to meet EnBW’s specific requirements

The U.K.’s largest operator of offshore wind service operation vessels (SOVs), Aberdeen-headquartered North Star, has won its first order outside of the U.K. It has secured a contract with energy utility giant EnBW to deliver a new hybrid-electric service SOV on a decade-long minimum charter to service the He Dreiht wind farm off the coast of Germany, around 90 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Helgoland..

North Star says that the contract marks a milestone step in its ambitious European growth strategy to add 40 new SOVs to its fleet by 2040.

The newbuild is of Vard 407 design and has been tailored to meet EnBW’s specific requirements. Equipped with a height adjustable motion compensated gangway and 3D compensated crane, it will feature Voith Schneider eVSP propulsion and is prepared for the use of methanol as a fuel.

Scheduled to start its long-term charter with EnBW from the end of next year, the walk-to-work vessel will provide premier accommodations in field for up to 34 wind technicians as they maintain the development’s 64 wind turbines. It will also act as a logistics hub and warehouse.

“He Dreiht is currently one of Europe’s largest energy transition projects and once operational, will supply green power to 1.1million homes,” said Caspar Blum, European renewables lead at North Star. “Following the highly regulated EU tendering process, we are thrilled to be selected by EnBW as part of their maintenance solution to ensure once completed, the wind farm remains consistently operational and generating renewable electricity.”

“With high operability a key component to providing fast, safe and efficient personnel transfers, we worked closely with EnBW and our partners Vard to develop a robust and superior SOV to mitigate sea state and wave height challenges,” said Blum. “The comfort of wind technicians and crew on board was also priority, with exceptional accommodation and facilities built in to aid health and wellbeing during long stays while in field. Ample warehouse space with side-loading access for simplified equipment transfers was also determined, ensuring we are adding another high-performance newbuild to our growing hybrid offshore wind fleet.”

“This vessel will be the backbone of our service and logistics operations at our He Dreiht wind farm,” said Michael Splett, global head of O&M wind offshore at EnBW. “Working with North Star, we were able to specify its setup to ideally meet the requirements of our operations teams. Its innovative, methanol-based propulsion system helps us to further decarbonise our industry’s operations. This perfectly aligns with EnBW’s strategy of continually optimising the operation of its offshore wind farms through the deployment of new technologies in the field.”

The vessel will be North Star’s seventh newbuild SOV since entering the renewables market in 2021. Its first two SOVs (VARD 4 12 and VARD 4 19 designs), the Grampian Tyne and Grampian Derwent, were delivered ahead of schedule last year, with a further two ships for the same U.K. North Sea client on track for delivery, the first this month and the second in February 2025. Both are of VARD 4 12 design.

Last month, North Star cut first steel on its second hybrid commissioning SOV (CSOV). Both are of VARD 4 22 design.

COCHIN SHIPYARD AWARDED BUILDING CONTRACT

The He Dreiht vessel will be built at India’s Cochin Shipyard.

North Star’s CFO Fraser Dobbie said: “Following a comprehensive assessment of pre-qualified shipyards with the capability to meet our high build standards and on-time delivery criteria, we are thrilled to confirm Cochin Shipyard Ltd has been selected to construct our seventh hybrid SOV. This is the first time we have worked with Cochin and we were particularly impressed by their skills, expertise, and vast experience in constructing hybrid ships for on schedule delivery to other European vessel operators.

“With North Star’s on-site teams overseeing simultaneous SOV newbuild programs at shipyards in India, Vietnam, Romania and Norway, this latest contract win marks another significant step in our journey towards adding 40 hybrid ships to our fleet by 2040.”