North Star and Partners Join Forces to Design Next-Gen SOVs for Floating Offshore Wind Operations
North Star and Partners Join Forces to Design Next-Gen SOVs for Floating Offshore Wind Operations
A groundbreaking industry collaboration has been announced by North Star, VARD, and several key partners to tackle the challenge of creating high-performance Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for floating offshore wind farms. The goal is to leverage their combined expertise to design the next generation of vessels capable of supporting the growing demands of offshore wind operations.
As the offshore wind sector expands into deeper waters with floating turbines located farther from shore, the industry faces complex logistical and operational challenges. Although current SOVs have proven safe for transferring personnel to floating wind platforms, there is significant room for improvement, especially when both the vessel and platform are in constant motion.
In response, North Star has signed a memorandum of understanding with MO4, Principle Power, SMST, VARD, and Voith Group. Together, they have formed a dedicated working group of industry experts to accelerate the design and testing of a new SOV concept. This collaboration is focused on developing a high-performance ship tailored to meet the needs of large-scale projects like the 17GW of floating wind developments from the ScotWind leasing round.
Andrew Duncan, North Star’s Renewables & Innovations Director, emphasized the importance of the partnership, stating, “Floating offshore wind brings both challenges and opportunities. Through this collaboration, we can design a solution specifically for GW-scale projects. Our aim is to create an innovative, best-in-class ship design that enhances the rapid growth of floating wind technology.”
The partners aim to optimize transfer operations by developing SOVs that meet the specific demands of floating wind project operators. These vessels will operate under long-term contracts, designed to address local challenges and enhance the overall efficiency, safety, and performance of the operations.
The project includes key players such as VARD, a leader in SOV shipbuilding, Principle Power, which has been developing offshore wind platforms for over 15 years, MO4, a digital twin and AI decision support software firm, Voith Group, contributing propulsion options, and SMST, specialists in offshore equipment design and build.
Before the new SOV designs are implemented in future floating wind projects, they will undergo rigorous workability assessments to ensure they meet the highest standards of safety, efficiency, and performance.
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