North Star has secured a contract with Siemens Gamesa to build a hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) bound for long-term charter at the East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm development located off the Suffolk coast, England.
This adds an eighth hybrid offshore wind ship to the organisation’s renewables fleet since it expanded into the market two-and-a-half years ago, and another notable benchmark on its strategic journey to add 40 SOVs to the business by 2040.
This latest win in the North Sea means the firm will now support two of the world’s largest windfarms, having already delivered three of four planned SOVs ahead of schedule to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is being operated out of Port of Tyne.
This marks our first SOV contract in the southern North Sea, which will be serviced by our talented operational team stationed strategically in the region to provide dedicated support throughout this new long-term partnership. It also presents a wealth of prospects for both our seasoned seafarers and aspiring crew members, while opening up additional opportunities for our local supply chain.
..North Star chief operating officer Robert Catchpole, who is based at the firm’s Lowestoft facility, said.
The East Anglia THREE wind farm will have a total capacity of 1,400MW, generating green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 1.3 million homes.
Pedro Fernandez, ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia THREE project director said: “It’s fantastic to have North Star on board for East Anglia THREE and playing a major role in powering a clean energy future for us all. This is a great example of the opportunities windfarms like ours can create for local supply chains and underlines the East of England’s position as a global centre of excellence for the offshore wind industry. We look forward to seeing the new vessel take shape over the next couple of years and getting to work on the windfarm once commissioned.”
The high specification vessel will accommodate up to 60 of its client’s wind technicians as they support maintenance operations across all 95 wind turbines at the East Anglia Hub development. To ensure safe crew transfers, it has a height adjustable motion compensated gangway and also features North Star’s Decision Support system to support zero carbon objectives.
The new SOV is due to be delivered to Siemens Gamesa to commence operations for the East Anglia THREE development in late 2026. The contract will be front run by one of North Star’s two commissioning SOVs, the CSOV Kestrel from April the same year.
The company, which in addition to Lowestoft, has bases in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Hamburg, plans to recruit a further 34 crew for the new SOV.
