ESVAGT delivers new SOV to MHI Vestas

With the ‘Esvagt Albert Betz’, named in Eemshaven earlier today, ESVAGT solidifies its position as the market leader in the SOV wind market. The vessel will service the Deutsche Bucht wind farm for MHI Vestas over the next 15 years.

The cooperation between MHI Vestas and ESVAGT enters a new phase this month, when the newly built Service Operation Vessel (SOV) ‘Esvagt Albert Betz’ embarks on a 15-year long contract in Deutsche Bucht in the southern part of the North Sea.

Here, ESVAGT will service MHI Vestas’ newly built 269 MW offshore wind farm with a total of 33 wind turbine generators (WTG).

The ''Esvagt Albert Betz’ is specially designed for the job, says Gerner Eskelund, Project Director, Newbuilding and Projects at ESVAGT: ‘In the design of the vessel, we have drawn both on ESVAGT’s expertise with SOVs and on our know-how from working in the offshore wind farm industry. We have optimised the design to ensure that the vessel is tailored and adapted specifically to the tasks that it will have to undertake, he says.

Innovative solutions

With a length of 58 meters, the ‘Esvagt Albert Betz’ is a relatively compact SOV. There has been a substantial focus on optimising the available space – but also on integrating more innovative solutions which increase both its efficiency and the work environment:

‘The fixed gangway system is combined with a large, stepless elevator designed for people and for cargo, giving full access from the vessel’s stores to the upper deck and on to the WTG. In combination with an integrated crane solution, this contributes to a stepless flow of spare parts, which is a considerable bonus for the work environment and efficiency’, says Gerner Eskelund.

The technicians’ well-being also has also been a central consideration through, for example, common facilities, a fitness room, cinema and a large outdoor area for relaxation.

A strong cooperation

ESVAGT and MHI Vestas have been working together since 2008. Today, the ‘Esvagt Mercator’ services the offshore wind farms Nobelwind and Belwind in Belgium, and with the ‘Esvagt Albert Betz’, this strong relationship will be further strengthened.

In September 2018, MHI Vestas and ESVAGT entered into contracts for the delivery of two additional SOVs for the farms Borssele III-IV (Netherlands) and Triton Knoll (UK); both vessels will be delivered in 2020, and one more contract was signed earlier this year between the two parties. In 2021, an additional ESVAGT SOV newbuild will be delivered to work for MHI Vestas, this time serving the offshore wind farm Moray East in England.

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