Cochin Shipyard wins SOV vessel order from UK’s North Star Shipping

North Star Shipping (Aberdeen) Ltd, United Kingdom’s top offshore infrastructure support vessel operator in the North Sea, has placed an order for a hybrid Service Operation Vessel (SOV) at Cochin Shipyard Ltd, strengthening the state-run yard’s status as a builder of high-end and niche ships for the global renewable energy market, multiple sources said.

Cochin Shipyard did not disclose the name of the client nor the value of the contract while announcing the order on Wednesday 31 Jan.

Shipping industry sources, however, indicated that an SOV currently costs some Rs500 crores to build from scratch. The contract includes an option for an additional SOV, which are used to support the commissioning and maintenance operations of the offshore wind industry. The SOV will be designed by Norway’s VARD AS, one of the world’s top designers and shipbuilders of specialized vessels. North Star owns the largest wholly UK-owned fleet engaged in the North Sea. The order boosts North Star’s offshore wind capabilities as it pursues its ambition to add 40 hybrid powered SOV’s to its fleet by 2040 to meet the evolving demand of offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) logistical support across the UK and Europe.

Cochin Shipyard is currently building two Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOV’s) for another European client. CSOVs are highly versatile platforms for all offshore windfarm support operations, focusing on onboard logistics, comfort, large storage capacities and superior operability.

With the new SOV contract, Cochin Shipyard strengthens its footprint in the high-end and niche global renewable energy segment towards sustainable solutions. Windfarm Service and Maintenance vessels are listed as ‘specialised vessels’ eligible to receive a subsidy from the government per a ‘Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy’ introduced in March 2016 for a ten-year period. Cochin Shipyard will receive an extra 14 per cent on the contract price of the Service Operation Vessel as subsidy.

The financial assistance to shipbuilders, both state-owned and private, is valid for a ten-year period beginning 1 April 2016, scaling down the quantum by three percentage points every three years, starting with 20 percent during the first three years, 17 percent for the next three years, 14 percent for the subsequent three years and 11 percent in the tenth year.

A ‘specialized vessel’ is a type or class of vessel build for a specialized purpose, according to the shipbuilding financial assistance scheme. In comparison, a ‘standard vessel’ is a vessel that is not a specialized vessel and for which fair price is determined on a periodic basis by the competent authority based on international price trends. For all vessels other than specialized vessels, the financial assistance will not exceed Rs 40 crores per vessel. “With attention turning towards sustainable and green energy solutions, there is a large global focus on the development of the offshore renewable energy segment,” Cochin Shipyard said. “The hybrid Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) are the workhorse of the growing, highly specialised renewables segment, in which CSL is actively looking forward with their proven track-record in the offshore support vessels,” it added.

The SOVs are equipped with a fully electric cycloidal propulsion system, 3D motion compensated gangway system (walk2work) and a 3D crane which forms the mission equipment. The vessels are to be classed with DNV ‘Clean Design’ and the latest ‘Cyber Secure’ Notations. The hybrid electric propulsion system is powered by 3 x 1300 ekW diesel generator sets along with a large lithium battery pack, to achieve emission reduction goals. The vessels can accommodate 54 technicians and crew with DNV comfort ratings and in-built Dynamic Positioning System.