Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit have signed a contract for another Crew Transfer Vessel for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, offshore France. The wind farm site is owned by Eolien Maritime France SAS.
The order follows a similar order signed in December 2020, when GE ordered two such vessels from Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit. As the first two crew transfer vessels, this third vessel will be designed by naval architect Mauric and built by French shipyard Ocea.
LD Tide, a JV between, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit will operate the CTV for the transfer of maintenance technicians to the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm. This unit will be the third vessel to be operated by LD Tide on the future Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.
"Following an international call for tenders, Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm selected LD Tide for an innovative CTV (T-foils, carrying capacity up to 24 technicians, high operability, intelligent bow fender, etc.). In addition to this contract, two other industrial partnerships have been established by LD Tide with French companies, allowing the structuring and development of the French maritime industry dedicated to Marine Renewable Energy," Louis Dreyfus Armateurs said.
The CTV will sail under the French flag and will have the mission of ensuring the transfer of technicians (up to 24 technicians per crossing)
between the coast and the farm for maintenance of the electrical substation and of the wind turbines in their operating phase.
The construction of the CTV will start in 2021 with commissioning scheduled for 2022.
With 80 GE Haliade 150-6MW wind turbines, the Saint-Nazaire wind farm will offer an installed capacity of 480 MW and will supply 20% of the electricity consumption of the Loire-Atlantique department, in France.
Olivier de La Laurencie, Director of the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm project said:"The Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, launched in mid-2019 with offshore works due to begin in February 2021, is becoming increasingly real through this new contract which announces the operation phase.
"We are delighted to entrust LD Tide with the construction and operation of our maintenance vessel and to mobilize both an architecture firm and a shipyard based in Pays de la Loire. As from 2022, the safe transfer of the technicians based in La Turballe to the windfarm will be ensured on a daily basis aboard this high-performance vessel."
Provisional technical characteristics of the CTV
• Length: 26.70 m
• Width: 9.40m
• Draught: 1.80 m
• 24 technicians
• 3 crew members
• Service speed: 25 knots
• Cargo capacity: 10 tons
• Propulsion: IMO tier III
Technical innovations / Environmental impact
• Semi-swath hull shape, allowing for better seakeeping performance to facilitate the transfer of technicians in rough seas (2 HS meters) and improve comfort in transit.
• Aluminium construction and addition of a T-Foil (load-bearing plane) to reduce fuel consumption.
• Connection to shore power during stopovers