Figure 71 SOV Esvagt Faraday, courtesy of Esvagt.
Function
SOVs provide an offshore OMS base, with staff working from the vessel for periods of two to four weeks at sea. SOVs are the preferred way to maintain and service wind farms located far from shore.
What it costs*
Charter costs vary significantly depending on size and fit out (excluding fuel).
Who supplies them
Vessel operators: Acta Marine, Bernard Schulte, Bibby Marine, Esvagt, Louis Dreyfus Travocean, Østensjø Rederi and Vroon.
Manufacturers: Astilleros Gondanm Cemre, Damen, North Star, Royal IHC and Ulstein.
Key facts
SOVs offer accommodation, mess and welfare facilities for wind farm technician staff, as well as workshop and spares storage. SOVs will stay at the wind farm for up to four weeks at a time, at which point they will return to home port to restock and change crews.
Access to the wind turbines is achieved either by smaller crew transfer vessel, daughter craft, by helicopter, or directly from the SOV using a turbine access system.
SOVs have operational speeds of up to 15 knots. They are equipped with dynamic positions systems. Vessel manoeuvrability is a key requirement to reduce positioning time and therefore costs. For this reason, there is little use of surplus platform support vessels (PSVs) from the oil and gas industry. PSVs have a more important role in supporting installation and commissioning.
SOVs can typically accommodate between a crew between 50 and 100, of which up to 50 may be wind farm workers.
What’s in it
- Accommodation berths
- Mess, welfare and leisure facilities
- Spares and tooling storage
- Workshop facilities
- Walk to work system