ESVAGT to provide two to three new Service Operation Vessels for MHI Vestas

ESVAGT, a dedicated provider of safety and support at sea, and MHI Vestas, who design, manufacture, install and service wind turbines for the offshore wind industry, have sealed two long-term contracts for the delivery of two new Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for the wind farms Borssele III-IV (NL) and Triton Knoll (UK), which together will produce 1,600 MW green energy from 2021. An option for an additional SOV for servicing the farm Moray East (also UK) is included.

The contracts will run for up to 15 years and reinforce the strong relationship between ESVAGT and MHI Vestas, who have collaborated since 2010. Furthermore, the long-term nature of the contracts will play a key role in minimising costs and ensuring an efficient operation.

Flemming Ougaard, COO at MHI Vestas, commented: “We build on many years of strong, innovative collaboration with ESVAGT. The combination of our shared knowledge will ensure a competitive and efficient green energy production for many years to come.”.

Innovative partnerships

ESVAGT and MHI Vestas have co-operated on wind farm servicing for the past eight years, notably on the Belwind 1 and Nobelwind 1 offshore wind farm projects in Belgium. In 2017, the newly built SOV ‘Esvagt Mercator’ began servicing these two wind farms for MHI Vestas.

The two new vessels will feature the new 831L design, encompassing both ESVAGT’s and MHI Vestas’ longstanding experience with offshore wind.

Søren Karas, CCO at ESVAGT, commented: “We are proud to continue our close partnership, and together with MHI Vestas set the standard for innovation and long-term solutions. We look forward to presenting 831L as yet another customized SOV, in which we combine the client’s needs with our competencies and experience in order to guarantee the most optimal and cost-efficient solution.”

ESVAGT currently has five SOVs and a sixth in production; with the two new vessels, ESVAGT will have eight custom-designed SOVs. According to the newly appointed CEO, Peter Lytzen, this emphasizes ESVAGT’s growth ambitions in the wind market:

“Loyal and innovative partnerships have allowed ESVAGT to develop into the market leader in offshore wind. Building on these relations is essential to achieving our ambitions in offshore wind”, he said.

FACTS:

The new SOVs with the design 831L will be the most efficient SOVs to date. ESVAGT collaborates with Norwegian Havyard in the design process, having previously worked with Havyard on the development of the SOVs ’Esvagt Froude’, ’Esvagt Faraday’, ’Esvagt Njord’ and ’Esvagt Mercator’.

The 831L will be 70.5 meters long, with accommodation for up to 60 persons. The vessel is designed for maximum fuel efficiency and will be equipped with compensated walk-to-work gangway and ESVAGT’s specially designed daughter craft as well as multiple other features.