Esvagt Accepts Delayed SOV Delivery from Havyard

Danish offshore support specialist Esvagt has contributed to an economic rescue package for the Havyard shipyard, the builder of the company’s next three Service Operation Vessels (SOVs), and has accepted a delay in delivery.

The delay in the delivery was caused by the Norwegian shipbuilder experiencing ”financial whirlwinds” , Esvagt said.

Offshore WIND reached out to Esvagt for comment on the new timeline for the deliveries. The company’s reply is pending.

Esvagt’s three SOVs currently under construction at Havyard are of the Havyard 831 L SOV design.

They will service the Borssele III and IV offshore wind farm in the Netherlands, the Triton Knoll wind farm offshore England, and the Moray East wind farm off Scotland.

It is yet unclear if the delivery dates of all three SOVs will be affected.

The Borssele III and IV SOV was initially scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2020. The SOV will service the wind farm’s 77 MHI Vestas V164 9.5 MW turbines installed some 22 kilometres off the coast of the Zeeland Province.

The Triton Knoll SOV was slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2021 to start working on the wind farm’s 90 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW turbines some 33 kilometres off the coast of Lincolnshire.

The Moray East SOV was expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021. This wind farm will feature 100 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW turbines.

All three vessels are under long-term charter contracts with durations of up to 15 years with MHI Vestas.

The 70.5-metre-long SOVs will be equipped with a compensated walk-to-work gangway and daughter craft, as well as multiple other features, and will have the capacity to accommodate up to 60 persons.

The contribution to Havyard’s rescue package and the delay in deliveries, combined with the effects of the turmoil in the oil & gas industry and the Covid-19 pandemic, led Esvagt to readjust its costs through streamlining and pay reduction, the company said.

The company’s Board of Directors and upper management have agreed to a 15 per cent pay reduction, and management ten per cent. Esvagt’s onshore employees have been offered a volunteer arrangement consisting of a five per cent pay reduction, and there is a genuine understanding from the shipping company’s over 1,000 offshore employees that in times like these, large pay adjustments aren’t expected, Esvagt said.

The pay reduction runs for a year, and together with postponement of investments and a few vessel decommissions, it contributes to Esvagt having the necessary liquidity. Additionally, a renegotiation of contracts with partners and suppliers will ensue, the company said.