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North Star has secured a contract with Siemens Gamesa to build a hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) bound for long-term charter at the 1.4 GW East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm, located off the Suffolk coast, England.
The construction project for the SOV of VARD 4 19 design has been awarded by North Star to India’s Cochin Shipyard. The company is also currently building a tailored SOV of VARD 4 07 design for North Star, which will be delivered to EnBW on a decade-long charter to service the He Dreiht offshore wind farm in Germany.
“This marks our first SOV contract in the southern North Sea, which will be serviced by our talented operational team stationed strategically in the region to provide dedicated support throughout this new long-term partnership,” said Robert Catchpole , North Star chief operating officer.
The SOV will accommodate up to 60 of its client’s wind technicians as they support maintenance across all 95 Siemens Gamesa 14+MW wind turbines at the East Anglia THREE offshore wind project. The vessel will also feature a motion-compensated gangway and North Star’s Decision Support system to support zero carbon objectives.
The new SOV is due to be delivered to Siemens Gamesa in late 2026. The contract will be front-run by one of North Star’s two commissioning SOVs, the CSOV Kestrel from April that same year.
Developed by ScottishPower Renewables, part of the Iberdrola group, the East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm is located 69 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk, England.
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The project, expected to start delivering electricity in 2026, was awarded its Contract for Difference (CfD) in July 2022 from the UK Government.
The North Star’s latest win in the North Sea means that the company will now support two of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, having already delivered three of four planned SOVs ahead of schedule to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm , which is being operated out of Port of Tyne, according to the firm.
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