Service operations vessels (SOVs) play a central role in offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) campaigns, serving as floating bases for technicians working on wind turbines. Safe vessel-to-turbine transfers are often constrained by weather and wave conditions, making motion forecasting technologies increasingly important for maximizing turbine access and uptime.
NextOcean reported it will supply its WavePredictor motion radar to the ESVAGT NJORD SOV, commissioned by Danish support vessel operator ESVAGT.
The system will support offshore O&M activities at the Dudgeon wind farm in the UK southern North Sea, with the radar and associated software due to be installed on the vessel shortly.
WavePredictor is designed to inform crews of vessel motions in real time, enabling safer transfers in rough sea states.
"On an SOV, the crew makes dozens of go/no-go calls a day,” said NextOcean COO Karel Roozen. “Our system shows the officer on watch what the vessel is going to do in the coming minutes, so that call is backed by verified predictions and not by 'feel' alone. On a [development] like Dudgeon, where technicians need to get onto the turbine as often as the weather allows, that means both safer transfers and more workable days."
The motion radar and its accompanying software are scheduled to be installed on the SOV this month.
