Awind orders offshore wind CSOV duo

Written by Nick Blenkey

Vessels are scheduled for delivery in first quarter and second quarter 2023 respectively from China Merchants Industry

Oslo-headquartered Awind AS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Integrated Wind Solutions AS (IWS,) has signed shipbuilding contracts for two high-specification, purpose-built “walk to work” offshore wind Commissioning, Service and Operations vessels (CSOVs).

The vessels have an innovative design with flexible mission equipment to handle a variety of tasks required to support offshore wind farms during the installation, commissioning and operations/maintenance phase.

IWS is an affiliate of Norway’s Awilco Group and aims to become a leading provider of high-quality services to the offshore wind industry.

The 90- by 19-meter vessels are scheduled for delivery in first quarter and second quarter 2023 respectively from China Merchants Industry, Hong Kong. In addition, Awind has secured option agreement for up to four additional vessels.

“We are very pleased to provide the offshore wind industry with these highly capable ‘walk-to-work’ vessels increasing safety, operability and efficiency as well as reducing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for offshore wind,” says Christopher Heidenreich, managing director of Awind.

The vessels are equipped for zero-emission operations using a battery based plug-in hybrid solution and are fully prepared for conversion to continuous zero-emission operations

They have a 3D motion compensated crane, motion compensated gangway and can accommodate up to 120 persons, mostly in single cabins.