Wind energy – hybrid craft
The world’s first hybrid daughter craft vessels designed to support the offshore wind market are to be built in the UK through a new multi-million pound deal.
Aberdeen headquartered North Star Renewables has confirmed that the contract for its game-changing fleet design, developed in collaboration with Southampton based naval architects Chartwell Marine, will be awarded to a UK shipyard in September.
The initial contract for two newly designed hybrid vessels will be built to complement North Star’s growing service offshore vessel (SOV) fleet and will be delivered in 2022 and 2023.
The hull form, equipment selection, innovation features and comfort are all focused specifically to suit the demands of offshore wind operations.
Daughter craft are used by the offshore wind industry to safely transfer technicians between the in-field SOV, where they live while working offshore, to the wind turbines to undertake routine or remedial maintenance. They are also used to support trips to shore and making deliveries in-field.