OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE In response to the specific requirements for UK Round 3 wind farm maintenance operations far from shore, a group of maritime experts has developed a new mothership concept that challenges perceptions of the working and living environment on commercial vessels through the implementation of design-driven innovation. The following article is an abridged version of a paper by Professor Dario Boote, Frederico Galleggioni and Dr Tommaso Colaianni from the Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture at Genoa University, Italy; Dr Sean McCartan and Tim Thompson from the Department of Industrial Design at Coventry University, UK; Filippo Iliopulos from Knud E. Hansen AS, Denmark; Ian McFarlane and Daniel Rose from Romica Engineering Ltd, UK; Bob Verheijden from Academy Minerva, Groningen, the Netherlands; and Christopher Anderberg and Henrik Phalm from the Division of Maritime Human Factors and Navigation, Chalmers University, Sweden.