The company’s first SOV, Grampian Tyne, was named in June 2023 at an event held at the Dogger Bank O&M base in Port of Tyne. The second SOV, Grampian Derwent, which is a larger ship with increased accommodation capacity and helideck, was recently delivered to North Star by the yard that built the vessel in Vietnam.
The new award with SSE Renewables will see the firm assisting with the construction and commissioning stage at the initial phase of the development of the windfarm.
This will allow the ships to then dovetail into their scheduled long-term charters to carry out operations and maintenance (O&M) for the development partners.
North Star commercial director Michael Gordon said, “Winning this new scope of work at Dogger Bank – our first in construction and commissioning – is part of our focus to be a true added value service partner. We are extremely proud to be recognised as a dependable operator, delivering these vessels to the project ahead of schedule, in a market which is finding significant supply chain issues cascading throughout the SOV sector.”
Grampian Derwent is a larger version of the three other Vard-designed newbuilds ordered by North Star as part of the biggest SOV contract ever awarded in the UK. The second ship boasts an increased warehouse capacity and ability to accommodate 50 client technicians compared with 40 personnel on the other vessels.
The vessel is also equipped with a 17-m helideck and larger 5-tonne capacity 3D motion-compensated crane. A suite of digital tools and North Star’s decision support software will also be utilised and provide feedback and learnings to the project with regard to operational tracking, KPIs and improving emissions.
North Star has also begun work on the construction of its first two commissioning SOVs, after awarding the contract to VARD in Norway in May. This will see the two firms collaborate on up to four ships specifically tailored for this growth market.
source: https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/news-content-hub/north-star-to-deliver-dogger-bank-sov-three-months-early-76848