Ulstein inks contract to design SOVs for Chinese offshore wind market

Written by Nick Blenkey

SX195 will accommodate 60 persons on board

Shanghai Electric Windpower Group has signed a contract with Ulstein Design and Solutions and China’s ZPMC shipyard that will see them design two types of service operation vessels (SOVs) that will be the first purpose-designed for the Chinese offshore wind industry.

With accommodations for 60 and 100 persons on board, respectively, the SX-195 and SX-197 designs will focus on optimizing operational capacity, capability and economy. With batteries installed, they will provide a greener footprint when servicing the renewable energy segment.

“Close collaborations among Ulstein, the yard ZPMC and Shanghai Electric have set a strong foundation for the projects,” says Ma Chengbin, General Manager of Shanghai Electric’s Engineering Service Company. “Shanghai Electric is the leading provider of offshore wind turbines in China, and with these two world-class SOVs, we believe we can bring more value to our clients and provide a safer working environment to our colleagues at sea.”

As well as holding a more than 50% share of the Chinese offshore wind turbine market, Shanghai Electric is also a large integrated equipment manufacturing enterprise.

O&M PHASES OF CHINESE WIND FARMS

“We are proud to announce this important milestone together with Shanghai Electric and ZPMC. The cooperation with the ZPMC shipyard goes back to 2012 when the Ulstein DLS 4200 heavy-lift vessel design was constructed there, and currently, the JSD 6000 project, another Ulstein heavy lift vessel design, is in good progress at this yard,” says Runar Muren, managing director of Ulstein Design & Solutions. “We are looking forward to the cooperation with ZPMC and Shanghai Electric.”

The SOVs will be used in both construction support and O&M phases of Chinese offshore wind farms. The two designs will be reliable and environmentally friendly platforms and comfortable workplaces at sea. Considerable attention has been given has to providing technicians with safe and stepless access from the vessel to the wind turbines and to ensuring sufficient storage and well-organized logistics onboard.