Offshore wind turbine maker MHI Vestas has awarded a contract to the Norwegian offshore vessel operator for the charter of the construction support vessel Normand Fortress.
Under the contract, the vessel will support MHi Vestas' Walk-to-work operations at the Triton Knoll wind farm in the UK.
The firm period of the contract is 140 days, starting in March 2021. MHI Vestas will have options to extend the contract further.
"The contract is the first being awarded by MHI Vestas to Solstad and is considered a milestone in our work towards further [enhancing] our presence within the worldwide offshore-wind markets," Solstad Offshore said.
The 857MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm, currently under construction, is operated by RWE Renewables.
Belgium-based DEME is responsible for the transportation and installation of the 90 MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines. The turbines are being installed at the site 32km off the Lincolnshire coast. Last week saw the installation of the offshore wind farm's first offshore wind turbine.
The load-out is carried out from Able Seaton Port, where all turbine tower sections, blades, and nacelles are being assembled.
Each turbine has a greater swept area than the London Eye (turbine 187m, London Eye 120m), and measures 187 meters from the base of the tower to the tip of the blades.
All blades, nacelles, and tower sections are being handled at a specialist turbine pre-assembly and construction base, established by Triton Knoll and Vestas at Able Seaton Port, in Teesside. Installation is being carried out by DEME, using the jack-up vessel Wind Osprey, provided by Cadeler.