February 6 - Van Oord has renewed an order for an offshore wind power transport and installation vessel from Sietas, and has an option for a second ship.
The order was renewed as a result of the Sietas shipyard not being able to continue with an order originally placed in 2010 because of the terms of the company's insolvency proceedings. Delivery of the complex vessel is planned for early 2013. The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price secret.
Sietas says it will be the first German shipyard to build an offshore wind power transport and installation vessel.
Receiver Berthold Brinkmann: "This order is a bridge into a new future for the Sietas shipyard. I am pleased that we were able to successfully conclude negotiations with our client Van Oord within a short time. The offshore wind power transport and installation vessel is a first in Germany, and points the way forward for Sietas and German shipbuilding."
Senator Frank Horch, Hamburg's Minister of Economy, Transport and Innovation: "The order from Van Oord for an offshore wind power transport and installation vessel based on a Sietas design is a huge leap into the future, despite the shipbuilder's insolvency. The Hamburg Senate remains convinced of the ability of the Sietas shipyard to survive and of this opportunity for Hamburg to benefit from the opening of the market in the offshore wind power sector. The Senate, as well as myself, consider it important to support Sietas in its efforts to retain as many jobs as possible."
The Sietas shipyard and its Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF) subsidiary will develop and build the installation vessel and offshore crane from one source as architect and integrator. Rüdiger Fuchs, agent for the receiver: "We have worked for one entire year to be the first German shipyard to develop this vessel. It was always our goal to construct and deliver the installation vessel here in Hamburg. This wish has now come true."
This also settles the order book for the Sietas shipyard in the coming months. Berthold Brinkmann: "The liquidator and management will work at full steam in finding an investor for the entire Sietas group, consisting of the Sietas shipyard, NMF and Norderwerft, and in obtaining more orders for special ships."
The Sietas 'jack-up vessel', as the offshore wind turbine transport and installation ship is known in the industry, was developed for use far from the coast in offshore wind fields. It has a transport capacity of up to 6,500 tonnes and can work safely in water depths of up to 45 m says the company. Its self-loading capacity and jacking system, which keep it stable even in choppy seas, enables it to work fast and reliably.
The type 187 special ship is 139 m long and 38 m wide. It has a draught of 5.70 m and a speed of 12 knots. Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF), which also belongs to the Sietas Group, will equip the ship with an offshore special crane which can lift a 900 tonne load with a reach of 30 m and work at a height of about 120 m above the water. The installation ship will accommodate 74 crew members during its deployment in wind energy fields.
