Naval architects Chartwell Marine and BAR Technologies have established a partnership to support the delivery of the next generation of offshore wind crew transfer vessels (CTVs).
The partnership will drive forward the development of new vessel designs ranging from 30-metre CTVs through to 60-metre service accommodation and transfer vessels (SATVs), making use of BAR’s patented foil optimisation and stabilisation system (FOSS).
A new 30-metre vessel design is one of the first outcomes of the partnership.
BAR, with the support of Chartwell, has created a 30-metre vessel which can reduce vertical acceleration by up to 70% in 2.5-metre wave heights, the companies said.
BAR’s FOSS technology, which helps to dampen pitch and roll, will also be an option available on new Chartwell vessels, and can be offered and applied to the Chartwell 24 vessel.
John Cooper , CEO, BAR Technologies, said: “We see the Chartwell 24 and BAR 30m vessels as natural partners. The former provides high versatility, high payload and large deck space, while the latter demonstrates up to 50% fuel efficiency savings at 15 knots and advanced seakeeping at speed, which is particularly noticeable on longer journeys – as well as great static seakeeping attributes. Chartwell’s strong engineering capability and design heritage has allowed us to create an advanced superior solution for owner operators based on their varied project requirements.”
This partnership and the new vessel designs are a response to the trend of building wind farms further out at sea which presents new challenges in the form of longer journeys and rougher waters, the vessel designers said. These challenges are further compounded by the drive to reduce operating costs, and carbon emissions, by cutting fuel consumption.
This has led to a demand for larger vessels that are not only designed specifically for bulk crew transfers and longer distance voyages, but also demonstrate greater efficiency and lower fuel burn. Further, the industry is pushing for vessels with the capability to operate for longer periods – to the extent of crew and technicians sleeping on board, requiring an advanced hull.
“As offshore wind expands globally, the challenges of constructing and maintaining wind farms in a variety of locales requires forward thinking CTV operators to make use of the full range of vessel sizes available to the market,” Andy Page , Managing Director, Chartwell Marine, said.
“With industry demand coalescing around larger vessels, there is a clear opportunity to deploy the latest technology and knowledge from other maritime sectors to deliver a new range of 30m+ CTVs which satisfy the growing requirements of offshore wind while, crucially, meeting the latest needs in efficiency.”