Norway’s Awind, a subsidiary of Awilco affiliate Integrated Wind Solutions, has signed newbuild contracts with China Merchants Industry for two purpose-built walk to work commissioning, service and operations vessels (CSOVs).
The vessels are scheduled for delivery in the first and second quarter of 2023 respectively, and Awind also has options for up to four additional vessels.
The pair will have flexible mission equipment to handle a variety of tasks required to support offshore wind farms during the installation, commissioning, and operations and maintenance. They can accomodate up to 120 people, largely via single cabins.
“We are very pleased to provide the offshore wind industry with these highly capable walk-to-work vessels increasing safety, operability and efficiency as well as reducing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for offshore wind. The vessels are equipped for zero-emission operations by battery biased plug-in hybrid solution and are fully prepared for continuous zero-emission operations,” said Christopher Heidenreich, managing director of Awind.
