Function
Offshore vessels are used to access offshore infrastructure, and offshore logistics involves management and coordination of all marine based activities and operations.
SOVs provide an offshore OMS base, with staff working from the vessel for periods of two to four weeks at sea. SOVs are the preferred way to maintain and service wind farms located far from shore.
Who is involved
The wind farm owner establishes and manages a marine operations centre at the main OMS port. Offshore vessels and logistics services are conducted by specialist suppliers contracted by the developer.
Key facts
Marine coordination involves the continuous monitoring of the locations of all vessels and personnel within the vicinity of the project, including the supply and interpretation of specialist tools such as marine coordination software.
Cameras are often located on selected offshore structures to enable CCTV feeds to review conditions and monitor offshore activities. Operators need to make judgements about the priority of activities based on the scheduled maintenance and unscheduled service workload and weather forecast. The industry is increasingly adopting software simulation tools to maximise operational efficiency in relation to scheduling tasks and deploying resources, taking account of weather conditions, sea state, vessel capability and operational priorities.
Bigger wind farms further offshore and with more complex operational systems will increase the logistical challenge. Robust communication equipment and infrastructure is a key element of offshore logistics to ensure live communication between all personnel.
SOVs offer accommodation, mess and welfare facilities for wind farm technician staff, as well as workshop and spares storage. Small wind farms close to shore use CTVs to provide daily transport to the wind farm for technicians.
Large wind farms further from shore use SOVs to house technicians offshore for multiple weeks at a time to conduct maintenance campaigns. SOVs will stay at the wind farm for up to four weeks at a time, at which point they will return to home port to restock and change crews. Access to the wind turbines is achieved either by smaller crew transfer vessel, daughter craft, by helicopter, or directly from the SOV using a turbine access system Some portfolios leverage benefits of scale by using SOVs to service several smaller wind farms in the same geographical region.
