MUMBAI: North Star Shipping (Aberdeen) Ltd, United Kingdom’s top offshore infrastructure support vessel operator in the North Sea, has placed a repeat order for a hybrid Service Operation Vessel (SOV) at Cochin Shipyard Ltd in a deal worth 60 million Euros, the shipbuilder said.
The hybrid SOV will be deployed on a contract with Siemens Gamesa at the Scottish Power Renewables East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm located off the Suffolk coast.
The ship building contract also has an option to contract two more such vessels.
Earlier this year, North Star placed an order for one hybrid SOV valued at about Rs 500 crores with Cochin Shipyard.
The SOV’s will be designed by Norway’s VARD AS, one of the world’s top designers and shipbuilders of specialized vessels. The vessels will be classed with DNV Norway.
The hybrid electric propulsion system will be powered by four diesel generator sets along with large lithium battery pack, to achieve emission reduction to a large extent.
North Star owns the largest wholly UK-owned fleet engaged in the North Sea.
CSL is separately building two Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) for an unnamed European client.
With the new SOV contract, CSL strengthens its footprint in the high-end and niche global renewable energy segment focussed on sustainable solutions.
With attention turning towards sustainable and green energy solutions, there is a large global focus on the development of offshore renewable energy segment, the shipbuilder said. The hybrid Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) are the workhorse of the growing and highly specialized renewables segment.
“We have chosen Cochin Shipyard to undertake this second SOV newbuild project due to their exceptional track record of delivering high-quality vessels on time and within budget. Their expertise and proven capabilities align perfectly with our vision for advancing sustainable maritime solutions, ensuring that we continue to meet the evolving needs of our clients and contribute positively to a greener future,” North Star’s chief technology officer, James Bradford, said.
“Cochin Shipyard is delighted to be chosen again as the preferred partner for North Star and is participating to achieve its goal in the offshore renewable segment. CSL is committed to build high quality products with focused interest in sustainable solutions to serve the evolving maritime markets,” added Madhu Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard.
