Damen orders larger offshore support vessel series from Windcat

Damen Shipyards Group contracted Windcat Nov. 25 to supply a new multipurpose accommodation support vessel (MP-ASV), with the option for five more.

The Innovation Series vessel design features a large open deck with a subsea crane and fuel-efficient operations.

It follows the companies’ prior collaboration on the development of the Elevation Series commissioning services operations vessels (CSOVs). Although the MP-ASVs are based on that design, they are larger, with a length of 102 m and breadth of 20 m.

This enables the increased deck space of 750 sq m, subsea crane capacity of 150 mt, and the capability to launch and recover ROVs.

The vessels will have a 3,981-kWh battery pack on a DC grid to reduce emissions performance and to provide peak shaving. So, the variable-speed main engines should deliver maximum working efficiency during DP operations (for example), cutting fuel consumption.

A shared feature with the Windcat CSOVs will be an integrated dual-fuel hydrogen engine, allowing the auxiliary generating set to run on hydrogen.

The vessels will accommodate up to 190 persons if needed for up to 28 days, with access to offshore infrastructure via a motion-compensated gangway that can also maintain a fixed connection with other structures.

Their DP2+ dynamic positioning system, regulating azimuth thrusters and a tunnel thruster fore and aft, should allow the vessels to continue to operate on DP2 in the event of a thruster failure.

Construction of the first MP-ASV is due to start next February at the Ha Long Shipyard in Vietnam, with delivery scheduled for 2028.