North Star, a leading provider of offshore support vessels, and its shipbuilding partner, Cochin Shipyard Ltd., have officially cut the first steel on a new hybrid-electric Service Operations Vessel (SOV) for EnBW Energie, a leading German energy company. The vessel is on schedule to commence a decade-long minimum charter to support operations at the He Dreiht offshore wind farm off the coast of Germany, starting from the end of 2026.
The milestone was celebrated on the 25 February 2025 at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. in India, where the planning, engineering design and construction work are being carried out. The significant step was marked with a ceremony, attended by North Star chief technology officer, James Bradford.
The newbuild will provide premier accommodation in field for up to 34 wind technicians as they maintain the development’s 64 wind turbines, located around 90 km northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 km west of Helgoland. The SOV will also act as a logistics hub and warehouse.
The SOV is of VARD 407 design and has been tailored to meet EnBW’s specific requirements. To drive high performance and efficiencies, the high specification SOV includes Electric Voith Schneider propulsion (eVSP) and is designed to use methanol as a fuel in future. The ship is also fully equipped with a height adjustable motion compensated gangway and 3D compensated crane. In addition, it utilises the best available technology to support decarbonisation, including North Star’s Decision Support system, designed to optimise real-time systems and solutions onboard.
This project update follow s last October’s announcement that North Star has also secured a second award with EnBW, for its first commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) to front run ahead of the SOV’s arrival.
Tailored for the commissioning phase, the CSOV (Grampian Kestrel) will offer essential accommodation and logistics to support the construction and commissioning works in 2025. Following this period, it will lead EnBW’s operations and maintenance activities until the newbuild SOV is delivered. This latest contract further establishes the company’s growing presence in Germany and the European offshore wind sector.
Construction of its renewables fleet is being project managed entirely in-house by North Star. In the last year, North Star has managed shipbuilding programmes at four separate shipyard locations around the globe, building its fleet designed to support the energy transition. Delivered on schedule and within budget, the firm’s successful construction projects demonstrate the team’s ability to locally manage the new-build process in the UK and overseas.
North Star European renewables lead, Bruno Bartel said: “The first steel cutting is always an exciting moment in the construction phase, and we were pleased to join the build team in India to mark the occasion”.
“We have worked closely with EnBW and our partners VARD to develop a robust and superior SOV with a new hullform to mitigate sea state and wave height challenges, providing fast, safe and efficient personnel transfers. With the comfort of wind technicians and crew on board a high priority, the SOV offers exceptional accommodation and facilities.
“This milestone also represents the beginning of our ambitious growth strategy in the region, as we expand our footprint in offshore wind markets around Europe.”
