VIDEO: Ulstein delivers second wind service vessel

MARCH 5, 2017 — Norway’s Ulstein Group has delivered the second of two SX 175 design wind farm service vessels built for Hamburg based shipping company Bernhard Schulte and Beijing based financial company ICBC Leasing.

The vessel was named Windea Leibniz in a March 2 ceremony at Ulstein’s Ulsteinvik shipyard. The name honors German mathematician, philosopher and physicist Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, who in the 17th century proposed using wind power to operate pumps.

Starting in April, the vessel will work at the Sandbank wind farm in the German Bight for Siemens Wind Power Service to ensure the production of green energy from 72 wind turbines.

“The vessel has the X-Stern hull shape, which allows it to be positioned with the stern faced towards the weather instead of the bow only,” said Matthias Müller, Managing Director of Bernhard Schulte Offshore. “Her award-winning sister vessel Windea La Cour’, which is working in the Dutch Gemini wind farm since August, has already proven that this leads to improved weather resilience, greater operability and reduced power and fuel consumption while on DP mode next to the wind turbine.”

The vessel also features the Ulstein X-Bow, which has just been selected as the second most important Norwegian innovation of all time, being edged out of first place by the Tripp Trapp infant high chair, but bumping the cheese slicer unto the number three spot.

The jury gave the following explanation for why the X-Bow featured in the top 3: “The X-Bow is adapted to the tough conditions in the North Sea. The bow demonstrates the innovative capacity of Norwegian shipbuilding, and is a strong contribution to the maritime history. As a result of the bow, the ship can tackle all kinds of weather conditions, and it comes as a safe choice. The X-Bow is a great commercial success with more than 100 already in use all over the world.”

Main particulars of the vessel:

• Length 88 m
• Beam 18 m
• Deadweight: 3,150 t
• Draft (max): 6.4 m
• Cargo deck area: 380 sq.m
• Speed 13.5 knot
• Accommodations for 60 people
• Motion compensated gangway system to transfer technicians to the wind turbine.
• Dynamic positioning: IMO Class II (DYNPOS AUTR)
• Main propulsion system: Two azimuth thrusters, each driven by a frequency controlled variable speed electric motor.
• Additional thrusters: One retractable azimuth thruster, two side thrusters forward