New generation of offshore wind installation vessels near completion

RWE Innogy, part of the RWE Group, has named its first new generation offshore installation vessel. RWE Innogy pools the renewable energy expertise and power plants of the RWE Group and plans, builds and operates facilities generating power from renewable energies including onshore and offshore wind farms. In total, RWE Innogy had placed the order for construction of two identical offshore installation ships with the Korean shipyard DSME. The contract value for each of these so-called “Jack-up Platforms” is around EUR 100 million.

The self-elevating and self propelled installation vessels “Friedrich Ernestine” and the “Victoria Matthias” will at first be deployed to construct offshore wind farms at Gwynt y Môr (576 MW) off the Welsh coast and Nordsee Ost (295 MW) in the German North Sea.

CDG provided contractual advisory services at both the tendering and at the negotiating stage of this cutting edge project for the procurement of two new generation installation vessels, the first such specialised and innovative vessels of this type in the world.

In particular, CDG advised RWE Innogy on the terms of the international invitation to tender and provided assistance in the run up to the award of the project to the Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd.

CDG subsequently advised the company on the review and negotiation of the shipbuilding contracts and ancillary agreements for the construction of these state of the art self elevating self propelled vessels and on various issues arising out of the contracts.

The installation vessels have a length of about 100 metres and a width of 40 metres, and are able to transport up to four large-scale offshore wind turbines at the same time and subsequently install them at sea. For the construction work, this vessel’s position is controlled by satellites and can be manoeuvred using its six thrusters with almost pin-point accuracy to within just a few centimetres of a targeted location.

The vessel also has extendable steel legs which hold it firmly supported standing on the seabed. Furthermore the ship is specially fitted with a crane, exerting a lifting force of up to 1,000 tonnes. This transforms the vessel into a jack-up platform from which foundations can be installed and wind turbines constructed.