Within a few years, it is expected that forty per cent of wind farms worldwide will consist of floating wind turbines. With this in mind, Saltwater has designed Blue Sky, a vessel specially designed to operate in the ever-changing offshore scene.
With a growing demand for energy, the number of wind farms is expected grow fast. Wind farms will venture farther away from the coastline and more wind farms will be of the floating kind. This shift presents a set of additional challenges in both the construction and operational phases of these projects.
Notably, it necessitates the transportation of crews, equipment, and vessels from more distant locations. One potential bottleneck that could slow offshore wind installation is the availability of suitable vessels.
‘We initiated a process with the main goal of designing a vessel that meets the most recent challenges,’ explains Sander Broekmeulen, CEO at Saltwater. ‘This process resulted in “Blue Sky”; a vessel specially designed to operate in the ever-changing offshore scene. With Blue Sky we managed to design a cost-efficient alternative to full-sized service operation vessels (SOVs), filling a gap in the current market.’
Also read: Damen presents SOV that can charge at offshore wind turbines
Blue Sky
The new developments within offshore wind bring with them different operational necessities that require considering the service and operations requirements of floating wind. Taking the new challenges into account, a process was initiated by Saltwater whereby the solution considers the new needs. This solution, according to Saltwater is Blue Sky.
Blue Sky has for example been equipped with a state-of-the-art Walk-to-Work system capable of operating within the wide luffing ranges required for accessing the floating wind constructions. This way the vessel is future-proof for the ever-developing floating offshore constructions.
In addition, the ship is equipped with the highest level of accommodation to maximise crew comfort as they are expected to have to travel longer to reach the wind farms.
The vessel has a crew of thirty and can accommodate sixty service personnel. It measures 86.22 metres long and has a maximum draught of 5.5 metres. The ship has a service speed of 10 knots.
Also read: Ulstein designs two more methanol CSOVs for Acta Marine
