CWind Taiwan has equipped its crew transfer vessels (CTVs) with a remote monitoring system called BareFLEET that will, according to CWind, significantly reduce maintenance costs.
Tom Manning , Deputy General Manager, CWind Taiwan, said: “Following the highly successful rollout of BareFLEET across our European fleet, we’re delighted to extend the use of the system to our Taiwan fleet including CWind Phantom and CWind Resolution.”
BareFLEET, provided by a UK company Reygar, has been connected to each vessel’s existing systems and collects data to track health and performance.
With the system informing the crew and operations team, potential maintenance issues can be intercepted before they become serious and result in unscheduled vessel downtime, CWind Taiwan states.
The company further added that c omprehensive monitoring of CTVs also has implications for health and safety. Effective monitoring of critical equipment, vessel motion, weather, and sea conditions is essential for ensuring successful personnel transfers and reducing sickness, says CWind.
“This is particularly salient for offshore wind farms such as Formosa 1, located in the Taiwanese Strait. Whilst the area’s high wind speeds mean wind farms in the region are optimally placed for energy generation, the weather conditions can be severe and changeable with a significant risk of tropical storms and monsoons. CWind Taiwan’s decision to install BareFLEET will empower crews and operations teams to make better-informed decisions, based on monitoring turbine transfer stability and ride comfort.”
CWind Taiwan secured two crew transfer vessel (CTV) charters in the summer of 2019, both for the Formosa 1 Phase 2 offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
The company signed a 90-day extension with Formosa Offshore Wind for the Taiwan-flagged Ocean Surveyor 3 in support of the project’s ongoing phase 1 maintenance requirements. The second contract was secured with Jan De Nul for the 27m long CWind Phantom, which began supporting the construction of the wind farm in June.
Shortly after, CWind Resolution arrived in Taiwan and joined the existing CWind fleet.