RWE takes four North Star vessels under long-term North Sea wind support deals
RWE has awarded North Star four agreements to support its offshore wind farm portfolio in northwest Europe with four hybrid-powered commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs).
The two firm long-term charter and two reservation agreements for newbuild vessels represent the sector’s largest commitment to date, North Star claimed.
The previous record, it added, was a three-ship agreement in 2021 for the Dogger Bank wind farm in the southern UK North Sea, where RWE now has four vessels providing logistics and accommodation for maintenance technicians.
RWE presently operates 19 offshore wind farms, with four projects under construction in waters offshore the UK, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
The new agreements include a charter of two next-generation hybrid commissioning SOVs to support RWE’s North Sea operations and maintenance programs. Grampian Eagle and Grampian Kestrel were delivered earlier this year; both have been designed to run in the future on alternative low-emission fuels.
Grampian Eagle will support operations at the UK’s Triton Knoll wind farm offshore Lincolnshire, eastern England, for a minimum of 12 years, while Grampian Kestrel will service RWE’s German offshore wind farms north of Heligoland in the German North Sea for a minimum of 10 years.
In the latter case, the charter contract starts this winter while the UK contract will take effect next summer. Both contracts include options for further extensions of up to three years.
Until these CSOVs are available, two interim Windward Offshore ships will be deployed.
In addition, RWE and North Star have a reservation agreement for two newbuild SOVs, which are to be constructed by VARD and delivered in 2028 and 2029, respectively. The vessels, based on the VARD 4 19 design, will each be 87.5 m long with a motion-compensated gangway, elevator, boat landing system, and accommodation for up to 120 personnel.
They will also feature hybrid battery systems and will be capable of running on methanol.
Offshore wind vessel newbuilds on the rise:
