EnBW Seeks Crew Transfer Vessel to Support He Dreiht Offshore Wind Farm Construction

February 2, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

EnBW has opened a tender for the provision of a crew transfer vessel (CTV) and crew for the construction phase of its He Dreiht offshore wind farm in Germany, which is scheduled to start in early 2024. The tender is open for applications until 27 February.

The charter contract will come into effect on 1 April 2024 and the CTV will start working at the offshore construction site between 1 April and 1 June 2024. The contract will run until 31 December 2025 and has a three-month extension option.

The CTV, planned to operate from the Port of Emden, Germany, will be used for the transportation of personnel, tools and spare parts to various locations within the He Dreiht project site, between other vessels, as well as to and from neighbouring wind farms, including EnBW Hohe See, Global Tech I, and BARD.

The vessel, which EnBW is requiring to be at least a 16-pax and to be able to stay offshore for at least 72 hours, will operate mainly between the Port of Emden and the He Dreiht site, with calls to other North Sea ports if needed.

He Dreiht is located within the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea, about 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum and 95 kilometres west of the Helgoland island.

EnBW secured rights to develop the 900 MW offshore wind farm in April 2017 by placing a zero-subsidy bid in the first competitive tender in Germany and expects to start offshore works in the first quarter of 2024.

According to the CTV contract notice, between 1 December 2024 and 28 February 2025, offshore work may be significantly reduced and EnBW may call in a winter break, during which time the CTV does not have to be available.

The offshore wind farm, which will feature Vestas 15 MW turbines, is scheduled to be fully commissioned by the end of 2025.