ZPMC, LD Armateurs Start Building First SOV for Vattenfall’s Offshore Wind Farms

ZPMC (Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited) has started the construction of the first of two service operation vessels (SOVs) for the French shipping group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LD Armateurs), which will serve Vattenfall’s offshore wind farms in Germany.

LD Armateurs ordered the vessel design at Salt Ship Design and signed a shipbuilding contract with ZPMC at the beginning of 2025, after securing contracts with Vattenfall for the provision of one SOV for the DanTysk and Sandbank offshore wind farms and one for the Nordlicht projects, with a third optional SOV for future wind farms.

Under the long-term contracts, LD Armateurs will build, own and operate the SOVs for Vattenfall’s offshore wind farms.

The first vessel, now under construction, will be deployed at DanTysk and Sandbank for long-term maintenance and repair.

The SOVs will be 90 metres long with a breadth of 19.60 metres and will have a hybrid power system, combining diesel-electric engines and lithium batteries. The vessels will also feature precise DP manoeuvring capabilities and increased flexibility during offshore operations, and will be equipped with a walk-to-work (W2W) gangway located close to the vessel centerline, a 3D crane for cargo transfers, and accommodation for 96 people, according to LD Armateurs.

The 288 MW DanTysk offshore wind farm, located some 70 kilometres west of the island of Sylt, comprises 80 Siemens Gamesa 3.6 MW turbines that have been in operation since 2014. Sandbank offshore wind farm, in operation since 2017, also has a 288 MW capacity, and its 72 Siemens Gamesa 4 MW turbines are spinning some 90 kilometres west of Sylt.

The Nordlicht offshore wind project in the German North Sea consists of two separate wind farms located 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum, and is expected to enter construction this year, starting with Nordlicht 1. The first phase will have a capacity of around 980 MW, and Nordlicht 2 will have around 630 MW. The offshore wind project, including both phases, will comprise 112 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines.

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