Fincantieri: Vard enters the renewable energy sector

Vard, Fincantieri’s subsidiary and one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of specialized vessels, signed a new contract for the design and construction of one Service Operation Vessel (SOV) for Ta San Shang Marine Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) and Ta Tong Marine Co., Ltd. (TTM).  The vessel – the first one to be built for the Asian market - is specifically conceived to perform maintenance operations to be carried out in the Greater Changhua Wind Farms by Ørsted, a Danish Group, world leader in offshore wind and renewable energy.

After the contract for a new fish farming unit, announced on April, 1^st, today’s order is another step of Vard diversification strategy as it marks the entrance of the company into the promising sector of renewable energy, alongside top-level operators like MOL and TTM, two of the major shipping companies worldwide.

The offshore renewables sector is undergoing a geographical expansion phase, becoming a worldwide market after being a mostly European-based industry. VARD has already developed several concepts of these units and will be able to take advantage of the trend of growing initiatives in the renewable energy space, with increasing activity both in Asia and North America as well as the continuing high investments in Europe.

The main purpose of the vessel is to transfer personnel and spare parts within the wind farm, whilst also working as a moving base unit. The project is based on ”VARD 4 19” design, developed by Vard Design in close cooperation with the customer and partners. It is highly focused on optimizing the hull design, safety, comfort, and operability. Propulsion will be hybrid with a diesel-electric solution, providing reductions in fuel consumption, maintenance and emissions as well as improved responsiveness, regularity and safety. The 84.4 meters vessel has a beam of 19.5 meters and will accommodate 87 persons in single cabins. The new unit will be built at Vard’s shipyard Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam, scheduled for delivery in first half of 2022.  

Vard is well known for its design and shipbuilding of highly advanced vessels for the energy sector. Over decades, the Group has built a broad range of state-of-the-art vessels for the Oil & Gas industry, for the research & surveillance, and the icebreaking sectors, for fishery, and other marine and maritime operations. In recent years, Vard has also developed and built series of vessels for the expedition cruise market world-wide.