MHI Vestas & ESVAGT Officially Christen The Esvagt Mercator, A Belgian Offshore Wind Service Vessel
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Offshore wind energy behemoth MHI Vestas and maritime safety company ESVAGT have this week officially christened the Esvagt Mercator, the latest high-tech offshore wind service vessel for offshore wind farms in Belgian waters.
I’ll admit, I’m probably the only CleanTechnica staff member who is so regularly enamored with offshore wind service vessels — one of my few concessions to the stereotypical “boys toys” idea. So whenever these stories come along, I like to continue sharing my love for these big beautiful toys.
Executives from MHI Vestas and ESVAGT gathered at the Port of Oostende in Belgium to officially christen the Esvagt Mercator, the latest high-tech service vessel which will support more than 100 Vestas offshore wind turbines in Belgian waters — specifically, 50 turbines at Nobelwind, Belgium’s newest offshore wind park, and 55 turbines at Belwind 1.
“With the inauguration of Esvagt Mercator, we are deepening our commitment to the Belgian offshore wind market and our expertise in the operations and maintenance business,” said MHI Vestas Chief Operations Officer, Flemming Ougaard. “The collaboration with Esvagt in the design of such an advanced service operations vessel has been outstanding. We look forward to utilising all this ship has to offer in maintaining the turbines at Nobelwind and Belwind 1.”
The 10-year lease agreement between MHI Vestas and ESVAGT deepens the relationship between the two companies.
“ESVAGT is proud to continue our partnership with MHI Vestas in developing the most efficient and safe solutions in the offshore wind industry,” said Søren Karas, Chief Commercial Officer at ESVAGT. “As two market leaders, we are joined in our commitment to being innovative and bringing efficient service solutions to offshore wind farms.”
The 58-meter Esvagt Mercator is “designed for highest efficiency including low fuel consumption” and can comfortably house 36 people for up to two weeks at sea, while operating out of the Port of Oostende.
“Each ESVAGT SOV is designed according to the customer’s needs and specifications,” said Kristian Ole Jakobsen, Chief Operating Officer at ESVAGT.” ESVAGT has serviced MHI Vestas Offshore Wind in the Belwind 1 offshore wind turbine farm with the Esvagt Supporter for six years. The new Esvagt Mercator has been optimized to suit the exact requirements in this specific park.
“The ‘Esvagt Mercator’ shows the versatility of the SOV concept. This SOV is significantly smaller than the other SOVs already in operation, and it is equipped differently too. For example, transfers to the offshore wind turbines will be solely performed using Safe Transfer Boats; STBs. The vessel is equipped with two STB 7 and one larger STB 12.”
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