Bibby Orders WaveMaster SOV for EnBW and Siemens Gamesa

Bibby Marine Services has signed long-term charter agreements with EnBW and Siemens Gamesa for the use of a new Service Operation Vessel (SOV) to be deployed at EnBW’s offshore wind farms Hohe See and Albatros in the German North Sea.

This has enabled Bibby to place an order for a further ASV9020 Bibby WaveMaster vessel from Damen Shipyards supported by a finance package from ABN AMRO.

EnBW and Siemens Gamesa will charter the SOV for ten years. Siemens Gamesa will take over for the first and EnBW for the second five year period. The special vessel is to support operations and maintenance work from summer 2019 until 2029.

This new purpose-built SOV, which will be named in due course, will be a sister ship to the Bibby WaveMaster1, that Bibby took delivery of in Sept 2017 and which recently finished its first deployment on the Galloper offshore wind farm before commencing duties for Total in the Dutch gas sector where the vessel is presently.

This next Bibby WaveMaster vessel is already in build at Damen Galati, Romania. Whilst the vessel will to all extent and purposes be a sister ship to the Bibby WaveMaster1, it will benefit from direct input from Siemens Gamesa and their experience of operating SOV vessels, Bibby said.

“The collaboration with Bibby Marine Services is another milestone in our cost-efficient offshore service concept, since new offshore wind power plants like Hohe See and Albatros are located even further from shore, we need the best solutions to create a safe and efficient working environment for our technicians. At the same time, the new SOV allows us to optimize logistics and workflows, and drive efficiencies to meet our costs-out targets in offshore wind service,” René Cornelis Wigmans, Head of Maritime and Aviation Solutions at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, said.

In addition to the input from Siemens Gamesa, following a market review Bibby has opted for a SMST and integrated gangway/lift solution along with a daughtercraft from Mare Safety.

Once delivered, in mid-2019, the SOV will have a base port of Emden, Germany. Hohe See and Albatros lay approximately 145km and approximately 150km km off the German mainland, respectively.

“Obtaining a long term contract was always our goal and this has taken a lot of hard work within Bibby and our key suppliers most notable Damen,” Stephen Bolton, Managing Director of Bibby Marine Services, said.

”The Bibby WaveMaster design allows us to offer a product that can deliver higher access in a safe manner based on solid science and real life experience from the in service Bibby WaveMaster1. Critically this allows us to stand behind our goals of higher accessibility and improved customer service in our commercial arrangements with Siemens Gamesa.”