Page 34: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2021)

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DOGGER BANK OVERVIEW

Source: DEME ‘Living Stone’

SOVs are equipped with a daughter craft used to move techni- supplied by Vard Electro in Norway.

cians round the wind farm to more remote turbines.

For the Dogger Bank, Aberdeen-based frm North Star Re- CABLES newables in March 2021 secured contracts worth an estimated Belgium-based offshore installation services company £270 million (~$375 million), to deliver three state-of-the-art DEME Offshore will deliver and install inter-array cables for service operation vessels (SOVs). the Dogger Bank A&B. The contract to deliver these cables

North Star will deliver the SOVs from summer 2023, with connecting the turbines was described by Deme as a “substan- vessels chartered for a ten-year period, with an option for tial” one, meaning it’s worth between 150 million and 300 three one-year extensions. million euros.

The UK-based frm said the deal would create 130 new “The far-reaching scope includes the engineering, procure- full-time UK-based jobs in crewing and shore-based roles for ment, construction and installation of the subsea cables for the lifetime of the contract. the combined 2.4 GW wind farm. Deme Offshore will sup-

In support of the contract, North Star said it would estab- ply, install and protect 650 km of 66 kV inter-array cables and lish a new permanent presence at Port of Tyne, “delivering a all related accessories,” DEME Offshore said.

local economic and supply chain boost to the coastal region.” DEME will use its DP3 cable installation vessel ‘Living

One SOV will be used for scheduled maintenance at Dog- Stone’ to install the cables, which apart from its large cable ger Bank A and B. The vessel is due to be delivered in January capacity of 10,000 tonnes, features a “dual-lane” system one 2024 and will also serve Dogger Bank C when this phase of for laying the cable and one where the next cable can be si- the wind farm is operational. multaneously prepared and have the cable protection system

Two other SOVs will be delivered by North Star to be used (CPS) installed. for corrective maintenance, at Dogger Bank A and Dogger This, per Deme, reduces the time needed for preparing the

Bank B. Delivery of these vessels is scheduled for July 2023 cables, minimizes manual handling, increases the vessel’s work- and July 2024 respectively. ability, and ultimately, improves production rates.

The vessels will be built by Norway’s VARD at its shipyard The inter-array cables will be built by Hellenic Cables at its in Vung Tau, Vietnam. plant in Corinth, Greece. As for the export cables, the Dog-

According to the shipbuilder, the hybrid vessels will be ger Bank consortium awarded the contract worth 360 million equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system, highly ef- euros to NKT.

fcient main propellers, and tunnel thrusters with permanent The export cable system comprises the construction of magnet electric motors in combination with SeaQ solutions around 4x175 km of 320 kV DC offshore export power cables 34 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM