VESSEL REVIEW | CNOOC 512 – Chinese energy company's new catamaran for wind turbine maintenance duties

China’s Pinghu Huahai Shipbuilding has completed construction of a new maintenance vessel that will serve customers in the offshore wind industry.

The catamaran vessel has been named CNOOC 512 (海洋石油512; Haiyang Shiyou 512) and will be operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) as a platform from which technicians can perform maintenance and repairs on offshore wind turbines.

The newbuild has an LOA of 36.40 metres (119 feet), a beam of 10.4 metres (34.1 feet), a draught of two meters (6.6 feet), and a service speed of 18 knots.

The catamaran design ensures stability when operating in and around offshore wind farms and navigating in harsh environments.

Design ensuring ease of access to turbines at sea

Fendering at the bow will prevent impact damage to wind turbines when approaching them. A cutout at the bow will allow technicians on the vessel’s foredeck to directly access a wind turbine tower’s boat landing without the need for an additional gangway.

The vessel is also fitted with CNOOC’s energy management platform, which is capable of intelligent decision-making. The platform can generate ship scheduling plans based on different needs such as the shortest time, lowest cost, and highest efficiency.

Advanced monitoring system for proper scheduling of turbine maintenance

The operation and maintenance team selects the operation window period based on the sea conditions and weather data of the target operation area, takes corresponding safety special inspections and preventive measures, and uses staggered operations to reduce the frequency and risk of going out to sea in extreme weather.

Boasting improved wave resistance (thanks to its catamaran design) as well as high transit speeds, the vessel can facilitate maintenance of wind turbines and replacement of associated equipment more efficiently.