55,000 transfers in one year - the ESVAGT SOV concept is even better than expected

ESVAGT's Service Operation Vessel (SOV) concept for offshore wind farms has proven to be even stronger than originally anticipated. Efficient operations open for new opportunities.

ESVAGT's unique service concept for offshore wind farms has proven to be even better and more efficient than hoped.

The concept, which was introduced with the vessels, ’Esvagt Faraday’ and 'Esvagt Froude’ for Siemens Wind Power in the summer of 2015, was developed to improve the effective use of technicians' time during their work on the offshore wind farms. The original objective was to make it possible to transfer technicians onto turbines so they could work for four days out of every five. That goal has been surpassed, says Ole Ditlev Nielsen, Business Development Manager for ESVAGT:

“The SOV concept has proven to be even more efficient that we had dared hope for during development. We have now completed the first complete calendar year with the specially designed SOVs. Throughout 2016, our accessibility rate was 90% of all days for the ’Esvagt Faraday’ in the North Sea, and even higher for the ’Esvagt Froude’, which delivered an accessibility rate of 97 % in the Baltic Sea," says Ole Ditlev Nielsen.

It is the combination of transfer options via the walk to work gangway and Safe Transfer Boats (STB) that have optimised working time and increased efficiency. ESVAGTS SOVs performed over 55,000 safe transfers from vessel to wind turbine in 2016.

“In total, we have completed almost 40,000 transfers with the walk to work gangway with neither technical problem nor incident, and we have completed 15,000 transfers using Safe Transfer Boats," says Ole Ditlev Nielsen.

Good cooperation brings success

According to Ole Ditlev Nielsen, the good dialogue that is part of the everyday working collaboration between the crew and the client is one of the main reasons why the SOV concept has been so efficient:

“The real gains come when both the crew and the client's employees on board understand how best to take full advantage of all the opportunities that are available to them. The many successful transfers are the basis for the high level of efficiency we have experienced in the wind farms. The flexibility on the vessels from using both the STB7 and STB12 and the walk to work concept can only be fully taken advantage of when the crew and clients use them right. With up to 60 different operations during a 13 hour working day, you could say that they have done just that, and we see the increased efficiency as proof of the good cooperation on board the vessel in planning the optimal working day," says Ole Ditlev Nielsen:

“At the same time, we can see that the possibility of using the STB12 for collecting cargo and specialists from the port has been an important contributor to efficiency. The STB12 is registered as an independent vessel and can sail to shore – something that is often done. In some places, the STB12 sails to port two or three times a week to pick up spare parts or people. That allows the mother ship to be fully utilised in the wind farm," says Ole Ditlev Nielsen.

The level of efficiency opens for completing even more tasks with the SOVs.

“We are in dialogue with our clients about taking on new work tasks in other wind farms nearby. It is in everyone's interests to take the best possible advantage of this resource," says Ole Ditlev Nielsen.