Damen has announced it will build its "Walk 2 Work" wind farm support vessel (WFSV) design, a completely new vessel concept for the OSV market, on speculation.
Following finishing touches to the final vessel design, construction will begin with the implementation of both basic and detailed engineering processes.
The monohull vessel will support and accommodate turbine maintenance crews at sea for voyages of up to one month. The vessel also comes with a helicopter platform, daughter craft, and up-time operability of up to 80 per cent in Central North Sea Area weather conditions.
The Walk 2 Work vessel has a length of 90 metres and a beam of 20 metres. Its bridge is located amidships, and the craft features 500m2 of deck space and approximately 400m2 of internal storage space.
Alongside the aforementioned helicopter platform, a motion and heave compensated crane and gangway are also notable additions.
Specially designed for the North Sea, the innovative design hopes to improve efficiency and productivity, resulting in greater turbine availability and lower overhead costs. Damen predicts the vessel will reduce maintenance costs of an average-sized wind farm by up to 25 per cent.
The vessel concept is the culmination of over a year's worth of consultation with industry stakeholders to design and build an environmentally friendly and economically viable OSV.
Damen learned that staff retention was a growing issue in the offshore market, prompting the builder to focus on a high level of comfort for both crew and personnel passengers.
This was achieved by positioning the accommodation in a key part of the specially designed hull form, along with considerable efforts to reduce noise and vibration levels.
Extra attention was also paid to the vessel's transfer of maintenance personnel and equipment.
