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reduce the affects of motion and accelera- recognizes that the technician is at the the wind industry; VARD plans to support tion on its crew. heart of wind-farm operations, and that owners and shipbuilders with these modi- “ABS is supporting innovation in the their ability to remain sharp at work can fcations, which in turn will help develop- development of alternative-energy sys- depend on the sea-keeping performance ers to fll the gaps until bespoke vessels tems all over the world and it is a real of the SOV. are built. However, as the size of wind tur- pleasure to be helping to deliver such an The offshore wind sector has recently bines continues to grow, only so much can important vessel here in the U.S.,” said come of age in the U.S., especially on the be achieved through conversion; extra-

Matthew Tremblay, Senior Vice Presi- east coast, where the developer commu- large, purpose-built vessels will need to dent, ABS Global Offshore. nity seems increasingly committed to cre- be built as soon as practicable, or brought

SOVs are unique vessels, purpose-built ating a successful market. VARD says that over from abroad to support the wind- for the deployment of heavy-duty compo- market holds several promising opportu- farm construction. Like ABS, VARD is nents and the accommodation of offshore nities for U.S. designers and shipbuilders, an international company with the global support and maintenance engineers. As but also some challenges. experience to bring the lessons learned such, they need to be highly adaptable, For one, the SOVs and larger jack-up overseas from the growing pains of the capable of offering transport, a hotel, a construction vessels needed to build and offshore wind markets to bear in the U.S.

warehouse and a workshop. service the offshore wind felds will need Both have extensive SOV experience

A purpose-built SOV typically requires to begin rolling off the slipways at U.S. and can leverage their knowledge of the a higher level of comfort so that turbine shipbuilding yards very soon. Jones Act, the OSV market and relation- and other technicians can stay onboard In the interim, a number of existing ships with shipbuilders to support the safe and work effciently for up to a month at Jones Act offshore support vessels (OSV) expansion of this fast-growing energy sea. The vessel may need to stay on sta- may be candidates for conversion to serve sector. tion for several weeks at a time, using dy- namic positioning systems.

During the AIP process, ABS assessed the Vessel General Arrangement, the mid- ship section and the ship’s prospective outline specifcations for the class nota- tions that were requested by VARD, and to ensure the design was compliant with

ABS Rules, including U.S. supplements to those rules. The VARD design calls for the vessel to be built to the following ABS class notations: • + A1 • Offshore Support Vessel (WIND-SC) • + AMS • + ACCU • DPS-2 • HAB(WB.)

STEADFAST QUALITY

In particular, part of the assessment cri-

UNMATCHED SERVICE teria from ABS’s Guide for Crew Habit- ability on Workboats focuses on fve cat-

The Marshall Islands Registry consistently performs. The record speaks for itself.

egories that can affect performance of the crew in the challenging SOV workplace;

Choose to fy the world’s local fag.

each can be controlled, measured and as- sessed in work, rest and recreation areas of workboats. The categories cover the design of the accommodation area, whole- blog.register-iri.com www.register-iri.com [email protected] body vibration (there are separate criteria for accommodation areas and work spac-

Internatonal Registries, Inc. in afliaton with the Marshall Islands Maritme & Corporate Administrators es), noise, indoor climate and lighting.

From talking to the developers, VARD www.marinelink.com 19