VESSEL REVIEW | Esvagt Wind 50, 51 & 52 – Crewboat/daughtercraft trio for North Sea windfarm support duties

Danish offshore support vessel operator Esvagt has taken delivery of three new all-aluminium fast windfarm crewboats in a series designed by OSK Design and built by Hvide Sande Shipyard (HSS).

Sister vessels Esvagt Wind 50, Esvagt Wind 51 and Esvagt Wind 52 will be operated in support of the Hornsea offshore wind farms in UK waters. To enable this, the vessels were designed to be able to withstand the harsh conditions in the offshore waters of the North Sea.

Designed for extreme operating conditions

Each of the 36GT, 17.2- by 4.9-metre (56.4- by 16-foot) vessels will be crewed by two people and used to transfer up to 15 technicians, move two tons of cargo and spare parts, and transport supplies and personnel to shore.

HSS said the newbuilds will be able to transfer cargo and technicians in rougher seas compared to earlier crewboats, which will expand the potential of using the vessels even more.

Esvagt initiated the project to build the new vessels when they required a series of crewboats that can also function as daughtercraft for larger support vessels during offshore wind operations. This led to the selection of an existing smaller series of HSS-built vessels to serve as the basis for the new designs.

Technicians will spend more time on board, so each crewboat is equipped for more difficult weather conditions without causing seasickness.

Fitted out for safe navigation and crew transfers

Each vessel features a reinforced hull, a Seakeeper gyrostabiliser, and an interceptor system to reduce motion both at rest and underway. These features will help improve comfort on board as well as expand the weather safety window for transferring technicians to and from wind turbine platforms.

In addition to traditional boat landings, they also support Pict Offshore’s GUS system, which hoists technicians directly onto the turbine platforms and satisfies HSC code damage stability criteria.

The vessels are each powered by two Volvo Penta D8 331kW (442hp) IMO Tier III engines and fitted with a Volvo IPS manoeuvring system. The engines can meanwhile deliver a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 200 nautical miles.

Auxiliary power on each vessel is provided by a Fischer Panda 19i PMS engine. The wheelhouse electronics meanwhile include a Garmin radar.

Esvagt Wind 50, Esvagt Wind 51 and Esvagt Wind 52 were built in compliance with Danish flag requirements and Bureau Veritas class rules, including the “comfort” class notation.