On September 4, Norwegian shipyard Ulstein Verft officially delivered the newly built Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) “Windea Clausius” to the shipowner Bernhard Schulte Offshore (BSO).
This is the fifth wind farm service operation vessel designed and built by Ulstein for BSO. It is a sister ship to the “WINDEA Curie” delivered in June. Both vessels feature innovative designs, highlighting four core advantages: reliability, operability, flexibility, and sustainability. The delivery of the “Windea Clausius” marks the formation of BSO’s modern offshore fleet, now comprising five top-tier vessels.
The “Windea Clausius” adopts the Ulstein SX222 design, which is also a new-generation CSOV design developed by Ulstein. The vessel features a unique twin-X stern design and a full-revolving propulsion system, ensuring excellent performance during dynamic positioning (DP) operations and improving fuel efficiency. Thanks to Ulstein’s patented TWIN X-STERN design, the vessel achieves minimal motion—a critical factor for safe gangway operations and personnel comfort.
The vessel is equipped with a large, liftable central walk-to-work gangway and an elevator tower to support personnel and cargo transfer. It also features a 3D motion-compensated crane capable of performing 5-ton offshore lifting operations. Spacious storage areas and a step-free access design optimize logistics processes. A specially equipped, liftable boat transfer platform enables safe and seamless connection between the CSOV and crew transfer vessels—a particularly important feature for wind farm operations.
The ship has 90 cabins with windows, totaling 111 cabins that can comfortably accommodate 132 people. It employs a hybrid battery propulsion system and is methanol-ready, designed specifically for low-carbon operations, making it particularly suitable for operation and maintenance (O&M) and construction support work in harsh sea conditions.
The vessel is named after the German physicist Rudolf Clausius, whose research in thermodynamics laid the theoretical foundation for energy conversion fields such as wind power. BSO continues its tradition of naming vessels after distinguished scientists, having previously named the “Windea La Cour” (La Cour), “Windea Leibniz” (Leibniz), “Windea Jules Verne” (Verne), and “Windea Curie” (Curie).
Lars Lühr Olsen, Managing Director of Ulstein Verft, emphasized: “The delivery of the ‘Windea Clausius’ is a significant milestone in our long-term cooperation with BSO. This vessel combines sustainability, flexibility, and safety, representing the highest level of maritime innovation. By providing solutions that offer both high performance and a low environmental footprint, we are contributing to the green transition of the offshore industry.”
