50Hertz Sounding Out SOV Market for Baltic Sea Offshore Grid Platforms

German transmission system operator (TSO) 50Hertz has launched a preliminary market consultation to assess the availability of service operation vessel (SOV) and walk-to-work (W2W) solutions for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of its future offshore grid connection platforms in the German Baltic Sea.

The non-binding consultation has been launched to support a future procurement and seeks market feedback on operational and commercial concepts for offshore logistics and accommodation. In addition to compact SOV and W2W concepts, 50Hertz is also inviting input on larger SOV and commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) tonnage, as well as campaign, long-term, seasonal, winter, shared-use and back-charter models.

As an indicative planning assumption, TSO is considering a vessel accommodating approximately 30 to 50 personnel, equipped with DP2 capability, walk-to-work access to offshore substation platforms in significant wave heights of up to around 2.5 metres, and the ability to transfer cargo, diesel, oil, fresh water, grey water and wastewater.

The vessels would support O&M activities across nine offshore grid connection platforms, covering an estimated 3,000 to 10,000 offshore person-days per year distributed over four campaigns.

The consultation is planned to help 50Hertz assess the availability of suitable vessel concepts, implementation routes, lead times, commercial models and propulsion and emissions-reduction technologies before launching any future procurement. The company emphasised that the notice is a preliminary market consultation rather than a call for competition or invitation to tender, and that no contract will be awarded as part of the process.

The platforms will form part of 50Hertz’s offshore transmission infrastructure in the German Baltic Sea, connecting offshore wind farms to the onshore electricity grid.

Companies interested in participating are invited to request additional information by 2 October 2026, while responses to the market consultation are due by 9 October 2026.

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