The vessel has been designed to provide on-site work facilities and accommodation for 45 maintenance personnel plus 15 crew, for voyages of up to one month.
“There is a growing trend for wind turbines to be located further from shore,” said Peter Robert, Damen business development manager, offshore wind. “At distances greater than 30 nautical miles, maintenance crew transfer from shore within one day becomes both impractical and costly.”
The WSV is a monohull vessel with bridge and accommodation located amidships. With a 90 m length overall and a beam of 20 m, the Damen WSV will feature 500 m2 of deck space, a helideck and a motion and heave compensating crane. It has diesel electric main propulsion.
The vessel will include a telescopic, motion-compensated gangway. This will allow each three-man maintenance team to walk quickly and safely between vessel and turbine. Designed to drop all seven maintenance crews within three hours, the vessel will remain within range to provide support and emergency assistance through the working day before pick up.
Damen previously designed a 6 m length FCS 2610 Twin Axe high-speed maintenance support catamaran designed for the transfer of 12 service personnel.