New Partnership to Develop Next-Gen SOV for Floating Offshore Wind Projects

North Star, a service operations vessel (SOV) operator in the UK’s renewable industry, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MO4, Principle Power, SMST, Vard, and Voith Group to form a working group aimed at developing a new SOV concept for floating offshore wind.

The six organisations have committed to developing a detailed, high-performance ship design to meet the needs of commercial-scale projects, such as the 17 GW of floating projects awarded in the ScotWind leasing round.

“As offshore wind moves into deeper waters with floating wind turbines located far from shore, the sector faces significant logistical and operational challenges that must be addressed efficiently and cost effectively. While the industry has demonstrated the ability to safely complete transfers from traditional SOVs to floating wind platforms, there is room for improvement in transfers where both the vessel and platform are dynamic and in motion”, said North Star.

The company will lead the vessel design process, ensuring that logistics and service needs are fully integrated to meet real-world demands in the field.

Digital twin and AI decision support software firm MO4 will be responsible for assessing the workability of the proposed SOV concept, focusing on vessel motions, gangway performance, and the movement range of the floating wind turbine foundations.

Principle Power will provide critical data on the range of motions expected from WindFloat platforms and define operational use cases for inspection, maintenance, and repair.

SMST will bring its knowledge of gangway technology, providing essential data on different walk-to-work options, workability parameters, and solutions for landing height adjustments.

Vard will combine inputs from all partners to develop a cohesive floating offshore wind ship design. Voith Group will contribute propulsion options, selecting the most suitable DP systems to maintain stability and performance in the challenging environment of floating offshore wind.

“Floating offshore wind presents both challenges and opportunities, and through this collaboration, we can innovate, and design a solution specifically tailored for GW-scale projects. Our goal is to create an innovative, best-in-class ship design that supports the rapid expansion of floating wind technology”, said Andrew Duncan, North Star’s renewables and innovations director.

According to a recent report published by RenewableUK, the global pipeline of floating offshore wind projects expanded from 244 GW to 266 GW in the last twelve months, reflecting a nine per cent increase.

So far, 245 MW of floating wind are fully operational across 15 projects in seven countries, the report outlines.

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