Scottish shipping company North Star has secured a ten-year contract with German energy major EnBW.
North Star says in a statement that it will build a new hybrid-electric service operation vessel (SOV) to service offshore wind turbines in the He Dreiht wind farm off the coast of Germany.
”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,” says Caspar Blum, North Star’s European head of renewable energy.
The deal marks the company’s first offshore wind deal outside of the UK market and is being called a milestone in its European growth strategy to add 40 new SOVs to its fleet by 2040.
EnBW is scheduled to begin long-term chartering the vessel from the end of next year.
According to North Star, the vessel will provide accommodation for 34 wind technicians while they maintain the farm’s 64 wind turbines, located around 90 km northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 km west of Heligoland.
Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Kristoffer Grønbæk
