Integrated Wind Solutions AS (IWS) has held an official keel-laying ceremony for the IWS Skywalker commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) at a shipyard of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co. Ltd .
The vessel, for which the first steel was cut in January 2022, will commence its first contract in Summer 2023 at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the UK, where it will be used during the commissioning of the 13 MW GE Renewable Energy Haliade-X turbines on the first two phases of the development, Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, until completion in 2025.
IWS Skywalker is designed specifically to support commissioning works during the construction of wind farms, as well as to support operations and maintenance during the lifetime of offshore wind farms, both fixed-bottom and floating.
The hybrid-powered CSOV will be the first vessel in the industry capable of zero-emission operations, according to IWS.
The vessel is designed by Kongsberg Maritime and will be equipped with a fully compensated gangway and crane from MacGregor.
IWF signed newbuild contracts for two purpose-built, walk-to-work CSOVs with China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) in March 2021 through its then subsidiary Awind.
A couple of months ago, the steel was cut for the second of the first two ordered CSOVs at the CHMI facility in Jiangsu, China.
On 21 March, IWS Fleet informed that Dogger Bank Wind Farm expressed their intention to sign another charter contract with the company for one of the IWS Skywalker-class vessels for the third phase of the offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank C.
A day later, IWS Fleet ordered two more CSOVs from CHMI that are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2024.