Norwind Offshore, a recently established offshore wind services firm in Norway, has awarded VARD contracts for the design and construction of two additional Commissioning Service Operations Vessels (CSOVs).
Norway's Farstad, Volstad, and Kleven in October 2021 teamed up and formed Norwind Offshore, a company focused purely on offshore wind. Announcing the company launch, they also announced orders with Vard for the delivery of three vessels by 2024, two newbuild CSOV, and one conversion of a platform supplier into a Service Operation Vessel (SOV). Now, Norwind has declared options for two more CSOVs.
"VARD is pleased to announce that Norwind Offshore has declared options for the design and construction of the two additional Commissioning Service Operations Vessels (CSOVs) which was a part of the contracts released in October 2021," VARD said Thursday, without sharing details on the contract value.
The new vessels are of VARD 4 19 design, developed by Vard Design in Ålesund in cooperation with Norwind Offshore.
The 85-meter vessels have a beam of 19.5 meters and will be equipped with a height-adjustable motion-compensated gangway with an elevator system and a height-adjustable boat landing system. The vessels will be prepared for the installation of battery solutions. The CSOVs will have accommodation for 87 persons on board.
The CSOVs are scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2024 and 2Q 2025. The first vessel will be equipped and delivered by Vard Brattvaag in Norway. The hull will be built by Vard Braila in Romania. The second vessel will be built and delivered by Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam.
Svein Leon Aure, CEO in Norwind Offshore is proud of their new fleet under construction at VARD: “We are pleased to have secured two additional sister vessels from VARD in our new build program, which will be vessels number four and five in the Norwind Offshore fleet.
The positive feedback from offshore wind operators, both on these state-of-the-art vessels and Norwind Offshore’s operational model, has been exceptionally strong. This has enabled us to execute on our growth strategy and the additional vessels represent an important milestone on our path to becoming a leading pure-play offshore wind company.
We are also delighted to have secured a contract for our first vessel from VARD, the Norwind Breeze, with one of the major operators within the offshore wind market. The vessel will go directly on hire upon delivery in May from Vard Brattvaag in Norway.
It is a huge motivation to be able to contribute to the Green Transition from within the maritime cluster.”