The launch has taken place of Wind King, a new service operation vessel (SOV) for GC Rieber Shipping that the owner expects to have operational advantages compared with a conventional design
Built by Cemre Shipyard in Turkey and designed by LMG Marin, the vessel has a small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) that confers several advantages compared with a conventional hullform of the type usually used for offshore vessels .
The‘WindKeeper’ SWATH is an especially stable design with excellent seakeeping that will also provide enhanced operability. The design is also characterised by what the owner designed as ‘ultra-low fuel consumption and the option of fully electric operation in the field.’
The SWATH hullform has been applied in several other applications and is a proven method for reducing vessel motions. The design has been model-tested at MARIN in the Netherlands and SINTEF in Norway and its reduced motions enhance crew comfort and reduce the incidence of seasickness.
Wind King is the first of two SOVs with the SWATH hullform that GC Rieber has ordered, and has hybrid-electric propulsion, with batteries operating as a spinning reserve and for peak shaving alongside the main generators.
The Corvus Energy-supplied batteries will be charged offshore, enabling the SOVs to operate emissions-free while working within the windfarm. They will be equipped with a motion-compensated gangway from SMST.
The 57-m vessels are being built to DNV class rules withy DPS(2) notation.
