North Star lands Siemens Gamesa deal
North Star’s latest SOV newbuild will support Siemens Gamesa’s wind technicians carrying out maintenance work at the East Anglia three wind farm
(Source: North Star)
Aberdeen-based North Star has won a contract from Spanish-German wind engineering company, Siemens Gamesa, to supply a hybrid service operation vessel (SOV) for long-term charter at the UK’s East Anglia Three offshore wind farm. The vessel, to be built by Cochin Shipyard in India to a Vard 4 19 design, is due for delivery in late 2026.
The yard is already building a Vard 4 07 SOV for the company. That vessel is due to be delivered to Germany’s EnBW for a ten-year deployment on the He Dreiht wind farm off the German coast.
The latest deal means that North Star will now support two of the world’s largest wind farms. It has already delivered four SOVs ahead of schedule for deployment on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm which is operated out of the Port of Tyne.
Robert Catchpole, North Star’s COO, is based at the firm’s Lowestoft facility in Suffolk. Describing Siemens Gamesa at one of the most pioneering and well-respected global OEM wind turbine manufacturers, he said: “This marks our first SOV contract in the southern North Sea, which will be serviced by our talented operational team stationed strategically in the region to provide dedicated support throughout this new long-term partnership.”
Siemens Gamesa’s Northern Europe’s head of operations, Andrew Viles, commented: “We are pleased that North Star will be building a new SOV to support the East Anglia Three offshore windfarm project. This agreement continues to highlight our focus and commitment to providing high-performing and long-term offshore service logistics solutions to our operations and customers.”
North Star’s CTO, James Bradford, stated that the company’s hybrid SOVs provide comfort, efficiency, reliability and sustainability to the wind technicians working on station. “We have chosen Cochin Shipyard Ltd to undertake this second SOV newbuild project due to their exceptional track record of delivering high-quality vessels on time and within budget.”
The latest contract will add an eighth hybrid offshore vessel to the North Star fleet. The company aims to have 40 SOVs on the water by 2040.
