Offshore crew transfer company Windcat said Tuesday it had ordered two hydrogen-powered Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (“CSOVs”) from the Dutch company Damen Shipyards, with options for further vessels.
The “Elevation Series” CSOVs have been designed by Damen Shipyards in cooperation with Windcat and CMB.TECH.
The hydrogen-powered vessels will be 87 m long, 20 m wide, can accommodate 120 people on board. The first delivery is expected in 2025. Financial details were not disclosed.
The CSOVs will be built at Ha Long Shipyard, Vietnam, and delivered to Windcat Offshore, a new business unit within Windcat, that will focus on offshore energy commissioning and services.
A CSOV is a vessel that remains in an offshore wind farm for an extended period of up to 30 days, providing maintenance materials and housing technicians in hotel-style accommodation.
"This next step in Windcat’s journey builds on Windcat’s 20 years of experience in the offshore renewable energy sector and follows four years of market and vessel design evaluation," Windcat said.
Robbert van Rijk – Managing Director and Co Founder of Windcat said: "After 20 years of developing the CTV business in all aspects of vessel design, construction, and operations, we started 4 years ago to lay the foundations for the creation of a ground-breaking CSOV design.
Van Rijk also said that the company has expanded its CSOV sector specific knowledge with the initial appointment of Stephen Bolton as Managing Director Windcat Offshore.
Windcat said that the Elevation Series CSOVs will be equipped with the latest gangways, cranes, thrusters, hybrid battery technology, and offshore charging capability.