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Ship to offshoreAs the prospect of Cape Wind and other Atlantic Coast wind energy projects move closer to becoming reality, leading international shipbuilder Damen Shipyards is developing an entire range of vessels for the offshore wind industry, and with many of these tailor-made vessels proving popular at European offshore wind parks, Damen is looking forward to bringing its vessels to the US market. PES speaks to Damen Offshore Wind Business Development Manager, Peter Robert.

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The privately-owned shipyard group, which has its corporate office in Gorinchem, in the Netherlands, has already seen many of its vessels such as hydrographic survey vessels, its heavy lift DP2 transport and installation vessels, the multipurpose Shoalbusters and Multi Cats deployed in the offshore wind market. Damen, which has a network of more than 45 ship and repair yards, is rapidly growing and continuing to expand its offshore wind series.

In 2010, Damen entered the crew transfer market with the revolutionary Twin Axe Fast Crew Supplier 2610, which is now often heralded as the new “industry standard.”

Since the delivery of the first Twin Axe Fast Crew Supplier 2610 to Scottish offshore wind service company Marineco, a further 14 vessels have been sold, and because of the strong demand, another 24 vessels are under construction.

Following the success of the Twin Axe 2610, Damen has recently also introduced a smaller version, the Twin Axe 2008.

In addition to the successful Twin Axe Service Crew transporters, Damen has just also launched the Damen Offshore Carrier 7500, and the Wind Farm Maintenance Barge for construction, service and maintenance support. (Read on for further details of these vessels.)

The development of an infield cable layer and other options for maintenance vessels are also being considered by the Dutch company.

Peter Robert, Damen Offshore Wind Business Development Manager comments: “We are capable of developing dedicated, fit for purpose offshore wind vessels.”

Close partnership with Bollinger

The group is open to explore collaborations with US companies keen to develop the huge potential offshore wind market, whether ship owners or shipyards. With its many yards worldwide, Damen Shipyards already has many US clients and it works very closely with US shipyards.

Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards has worked with Damen for many years and has built – and still is building – many Damen design vessels for the US Coast Guard.

Bollinger has built and delivered a total of 76 Damen designed Stan Patrol 2606 patrol vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard.

This unique vessel is a multi-mission platform capable of performing its duties up to 200 miles offshore and it is capable of a maximum continuous speed of 25 knots. As well as meeting the stringent requirements of the USCG, the vessel was designed in accordance with the American Bureau of Shipping’s “Guide of Building and Classing High Speed Crafts” and is capable of towing vessels weighing up to 200 tons.

More recently Bollinger delivered the first Damen design 4708 Fast Responds Cutter to the U.S. Coast Guard. This 156 feet patrol cutter is the first out of a series of 58 vessels and serves to replace the 110-foot Island Class.

“We are always exploring other opportunities in the US, whether that is cooperating with shipyards through a license structure or via Damen Technical Cooperation from where Damen can offer as little as just a fully engineered design package or as much as a complete vessel that is delivered as an ‘IKEA’ type package and that only needs to be assembled by the local yard. If shipyards or vessel operators see potential in the offshore wind support industry, they are always welcome to contact us,” explains Peter Robert

In Europe, the Damen Fast Crew Supplier 2610 vessels are working at several offshore

wind farms including BARD, Greater Gabbard, and Global Tech. Other Damen vessels, such as the Shoalbuster and the Multi Cat are successfully supporting the many wind farms.

Twin Axe Fast Crew Supplier 2610

“The 2610 can safely perform crew transfers in over 2.5 m significant wave height without loss of performance. With its excellent seakeeping ability the Twin Axe Fast Crew Supplier has extended the operating window considerably and over the next few years this will become even more important given the fact that the off-shore wind farms are being planned and built further offshore.

Leading wind farm developers and turbine manufacturers frequently contact Damen to request the contact details of the companies that are operating the Damen Twin Axe 2610. Robert points out that “There is significant interest from the vessel operators, including the market leaders. They see how successful the Twin Axe operates around the off-shore wind farms and they want to work with these vessels. “There is so much more comfort for the crew” he adds, “as the vessel can keep going at full speed even in choppy waters.” Additionally, the 2610 is ideal as a support vessel as it is capable of carrying two 20ft containers. These vessels can stay out in the field for up to four days at a time.

“If shipyards or vessel operators see potential in the offshore wind support industry, they are always welcome to contact us”

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New Twin Axe FCS types

There are several versions of the Twin Axe FCS available including the FCS 2008, a shorter version of the 2610. The 2008 is more focused on the offshore maintenance market and for wind farms closer to shore. Several customers have placed orders for this shorter service vessel as well.

Damen Offshore Carrier (DOC) 7500

In August, Damen launched the latest member of the offshore wind vessel family – the Damen Offshore Carrier (DOC) 7500.

The DOC is a large open deck transport vessel with an endurance of 65 days, a large 2,300 sq. meter unobstructed deck and is highly fuel-efficient.

This new breed of multipurpose vessel is ideal for feeding the jack-up wind turbine installation vessel, which saves valuable time, particularly when the wind farms are further offshore. The DOC can be used in a feedering solution transporting the Nacelles, Transition Pieces and Monopiles and can easily be adapted for a wide variety of installation work such as cable laying.

This new shipping concept will come to the market in 2014. Remko Bouma, Vice President of Sales at Damen Shipyards Bergum, said that when Damen started the development of the DOC in 2011 it wanted to create a vessel that was capable of carrying modules and cargo on an unobstructed open deck over long distances.

The DOC will be able to handle relatively high sea states, whilst maintaining course and speed but at the same time, it has to be economical, he stresses.

With her excellent seakeeping capability, the vessel typically averages 11 knots, while a tug and barge combination for the same transit would average only five to seven knots.

In the design process, particular attention was paid to the bow and hull. The new distinctive, sleek bow and slender hull enables the vessel to sustain its speed and course in head seas, as well as helping to reduce fuel consumption. The bow design leads to less acceleration and therefore slamming has been reduced to a very low level, improving not only the fuel consumption but also the comfort and safety for the crew and cargo.

The DOC 7500 fulfills the latest market demands and can be equipped with both the DP2 or DP3 positioning systems. The vessel comfortably accommodates a crew of 30 people. The DOC 7500 has a beam of 27.5m and Damen is developing a larger version of the DOC with a beam of 32.50m.

Offshore Wind Maintenance Barge

The Damen maintenance barge provides a base for remote infield operations. This ocean going barge measures 72 x 20 meters and offers a stable platform for a deck mounted or crawler crane. A larger version of 91 x 27 meters has also been engineered. These platforms can be equipped with accommodation blocks to serve as crew hotels or the barges can be used to store critical spare parts, wind turbine components or serve as a safe haven for small crew transfer vessels.

Mr Robert adds: “Eventually foundations are going to get bigger, the wind farms are going to be positioned further away from shore and monopiles are likely to be partly replaced by jacket structures as they are more cost effective for the larger five and seven MW turbines.”

Sea Basing and Feedering solutions

Due to the expected longer transfer periods between the supply ports and the off-shore construction sites, installation costs will increase and it will be more difficult and less cost efficient to operate using clear weather windows only, he says.

These trends require an entirely new logistical approach to the offshore wind industry, he emphasizes “…and therefore sea basing concepts are the way forward. Jack-up vessels should be used for installation not just transit purposes.” Damen is working on several feedering and sea basing solutions.

Demofloat FP7

Damen is also involved in floating

offshore wind via the European Union’s 7th Framework programme. US based company Principle Power, Inc. is presently testing the first commercial size floating wind tower, which is positioned off the coast of Portugal, and so far the performance is exceeding all expectations.

Known for serial production of standard vessels, Damen is researching how more cost efficient production methods to manufacture these floating foundations in the most efficient way.

Currently, floating turbines are still experimental but it is expected that these foundation types will be used more and more as development of wind farms is heading for deeper water sites.

Mr Robert believes there will be more dedicated vessels in the future and Damen is certainly focusing its product development on all of the specialist vessels needed for the efficient and safe operation of a wind farm. “Damen is addressing every aspect of the offshore wind industry. We already have an integrated range of dedicated wind farm vessels with which we offer support services for every stage of an offshore wind farm’s lifecycle: from development to installation and maintenance. With every design and every vessel we address the all-important issue of reducing energy consumption and cost. Currently, Damen is one of the few shipyards in the world that has the capability to develop a true total offshore wind solution and all our efforts are aimed at bringing that solution to the market ASAP.”

www.damen.nl

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