On 25 January 2022 the ZPMC shipyard and Ulstein Design & Solutions AS signed the ship design contract on two types of Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for Shanghai Electric Windpower Group.
These are the first purpose made SOVs designed for the Chinese Offshore Wind industry.
Ulstein Design & Solutions and Shanghai Electric have joined forces to be the first movers into the Chinese offshore wind Operations & Maintenance (O&M) segment.
As the first and most advanced SOVs in China, the design process was carried out based on Ulstein’s vast experience within offshore windfarm O&M practice.
The first SOV project contains two different designs, both with the ULSTEIN iconic design features, the X-BOW® and the X-STERN®.
Accommodated with 60 POB and 100 POB respectively, these designs are the future enablers to their owner, Shanghai Electric, providing high-efficient, robust, and state-of-the-art O&M service to the end customers.
Both designs will focus on optimising their operational capacity, capability and economy. With battery installed, the vessels will provide greener footprint when servicing the renewable energy segment.
“The choice for Ulstein design has been based on their market leadership, proven track record and local presence. During the process of developing these concepts, Ulstein is dedicated with their professionalism and expertise.
“Close collaborations among Ulstein, the yard ZPMC and Shanghai Electric have set a strong foundation for the projects.
“Shanghai Electric is the leading provider of offshore wind turbines in China, and with these two world-class SOVs, we believe we can bring more values to our clients and provide a safer working environment to our colleagues at sea,” says Ma Chengbin, General Manager of Engineering Service Company at Shanghai Electric.
With more than 50% market share, Shanghai Electric is the largest offshore wind turbine supplier in China and is also a large integrated equipment manufacturing enterprise.
The usage of SOVs will significantly improve the efficiency of service operations at offshore wind farms in China, including the stages of construction support and O&M.
The two designs will be reliable and environmentally friendly platforms and comfortable workplaces at sea.
Much consideration has been taken in order to provide technicians a safe and stepless access from the vessel to the wind turbines and ensure sufficient storage and well-organized logistics onboard the vessels.
