The vessels will service the world’s biggest offshore wind farm

Norwegian ship designer and builder VARD has secured contracts for the design and construction of three Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for North Star Renewables in Scotland.

The hybrid trio will operate on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea.

The SOVs were developed by VARD in close cooperation with Aberdeen-based North Star, which has secured 10-year charter contracts for the trio from Dogger Bank Wind Farm in a broad international competition.

The charters include options for three one-year extensions. Dogger Bank is currently under construction by joint-venture partners SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni and when completed will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. 

North Star Renewables CEO Matthew Gordon said: “We’ve worked closely with the team at VARD for over two years on the development of our SOVs for Dogger Bank.”

He said the awarding of the work was a huge step for North Star towards becoming a leading player within the SOV market.

“It’s exciting that these designs will now move into the construction phase and continuing that journey with VARD is a natural extension of our strong relationship. We’re confident that we have a high-quality design and build partner that will support us in bringing these advanced new vessels to the market.”