Louis Dreyfus expands CTV fleet by two
French maritime solutions firm Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) will expand its CTV by two following an order placed with Singapore-based builder Strategic Marine.
Two 27m Crew Transfer Vessels, inspired by the StratCat 27 design and sister ships to Acti’Vent and Esti’Vent, will bring LDA’s CTV fleet to seven.
The order is part of the company’s strategy to expand its offshore business in France and Europe, Renewables managing director Gaël Cailleaux said.
According to market intelligence firm 4C Offshore, France currently has 46 offshore wind projects on the go, just two of which are actually operating.
Regulatory and legal obstacles have plagued the sector, however the French government now has a target of installing 45GW by 2050 and 18GW by 2030.
Two offshore wind auction rounds of 1.2GW and 1.5GW will be held this summer, says WindEurope, with a ‘broad stakeholder consultation’ to inform government about suitable sites for development to be finalised this year.
“As a result of this consultation an auction round for 8-10GW of capacity could be prepared later this year already,” says WindEurope.
“Today it takes 10 to 12 years to build an offshore wind farm in France. This threatens the economic viability of offshore wind farms and puts France’s energy targets at risk. To meet the new offshore wind targets the ministers announced several new measures to ’drastically simplify and shorten’ planning and permitting procedures.
“The ministers aim to halve the timelines from 12 years to 6 years. Simplification measures should make it possible to waive certain public procurement rules and accelerate the grid connection for new offshore wind farms. The ministers also pledged to reduce the total duration of auctions to around 12 months – compared to up to three years today.”
“We believe these vessels will significantly improve operational efficiency and safety for our client,” said Chan Eng Yew, CEO of Strategic Marine. “Since its introduction our StratCat 27s have seen successful deployments in key European markets and also in the rapidly growing markets of Asia such as Taiwan and Korea.”
