New CTVs for French wind farm

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Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit have been selected by GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind to provide two Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.

The two CTVs have been designed by naval architects MAURIC and will be built by the French shipyard OCEA

The two CTVs have been designed by naval architects MAURIC and will be built by the French shipyard OCEA. They will be operated by a joint venture between the two companies called LD Tide and will be used for the transfer of maintenance technicians to the wind farm.

The provisional technical specification of the two CTVs shows a length of 26.70 metres and a beam of 9.40 metres for the catamaran hulls. These hulls will be constructed in aluminium and be of a semi-SWATH shape that is claimed to allow better seakeeping for transferring technicians in rough seas up to 2 metres in height plus offering greater comfort when in transit. In addition there will be a T-foil that is claimed to reduce fuel consumption.

Whilst the machinery has not been specified it will meet the IMO Tier III requirements and in addition to the diesel engines it will have a hybrid system using batteries and the vessels will be hydrogen ready. This system will give a service speed of 25 knots and the craft will be capable of carrying 25 technicians plus a crew of three coupled with a cargo capacity of 10 tonnes. The vessels will be able to plug into shore power during stopovers. Construction is scheduled to start in 2021 with delivery planned for a year later.

With 80 GE Haliade 150-6MW wind turbines, the Saint-Nazaire wind farm will offer an installed capacity of 480MW and will supply 20% of the electricity consumption of the Loire-Atlantique department, in France.

Leo Hambro, the Commercial Director of Tidal Transit commented, “We are delighted to have created a new company in France with Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. With ten years of experience in the offshore wind industry, Tidal Transit has built a solid reputation for delivering the best vessels with the best crew at a competitive price.”

Kamil Beffa, Deputy CEO of the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group said, “We are strengthening our commitment to clean and renewable energies while confirming our strategy for more innovative maritime solutions in terms of comfort, personnel safety and respect of the environment.

By Dag Pike