Ship&Offshore | Ausgabe 06/2016
Offshore service vessels: larger, faster and more efficient
Market overview | The offshore wind industry is still searching for the best solution and right kind of ship for maintenance work on offshore wind farms. Large service operations vessels (SOVs) and crew transfer vessels (CTVs) that are more suitable for deployment on the high seas are two new options on the market. Freelance specialist journalist Torsten Thomas reports.
Maintenance work for offshore wind farms is expensive. According to current market information, a service technician costs approximately EUR 800 per day. This doesn’t include the cost of transportation and crew rotation, bonuses or accommodations for personnel. The farther the distance from the coast, the higher the logistics costs for maintenance and the greater the risk of downtime due to bad weather. Suitable vessels should ensure high availability of the turbines but also cost as little as possible to charter. Shipbrokers quote prices for SOVs starting at EUR 20,000 per day. The rates for CTVs are approximately EUR 3,000. According to industry experts, however, these relatively inexpensive catamarans can operate no more than 30km from the coast. Up to this limit, CTVs can be used on a daily basis and transfer personnel and materials between a wind farm and the base port. However, these 17m- to 25m-long vessels can only be used when the weather is good. Particularly during the winter months, they often remain in port due to bad weather but have to be paid for by the charterer anyway.