Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. announced yesterday that it had awarded a contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. to convert one of its recently acquired 280-foot offshore supply vessels (OSV) to a service operation vessel (SOV) that will serve the U.S. offshore wind market. The SOV will also serve the petro-energy flotel market.
The vessel was originally built at Panams City, Fla.-based Eastern Shipbuilding in 2014 and will be converted at the company’s 300-acre Allanton, Fla., shipyard.
The U.S.-flag vessel will be capable of supporting both construction and O&M activities. Delivery is expected in spring 2025.
The HOSSOV 300E-class vessel has been designed in collaboration with Vard, the original designer of the vessel, to address the key "desirements" of the U.S. offshore wind market based on Vard's other recent SOV designs. The new SOV will have capacity to accommodate up to 90 or more persons in flotel or offshore wind service mode, with safe, stepless walk-to-work transfer capabilities in up to 2.5m sea states. The SOV will be equipped with an Uptime International 30-meter motion-compensated offshore gangway, a 10-ton 3D-compensated crane, helideck, enclosed warehouse and stepless boat landing.
The SOV's existing state-of-the-art diesel-electric powerplant will be enhanced by a 1,500 kW-hour battery hybrid power system, which will reduce emissions during offshore operations and in harbor transit. SOV's accommodations will be built to ABS Comfort Class habitability notation standards, and will include a host of onboard amenities typical of a newbuild SOV.
"We are excited to expand our deep experience in walk-to-work and offshore accommodation services with a fully capable SOV for the benefit of the offshore wind community and our offshore petroleum clients," Todd Hornbeck, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement. "The SOV is a welcomed addition to our high-spec fleet of vessels, as we continue to grow in both our core oilfield and diversified non-oilfield businesses."
“This SOV conversion is a transformational project that will serve the emerging U.S. offshore wind market,” Joey D’Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, said in a statement. “We are proud to be the first shipbuilding company to blaze this trail with a vessel we crafted and with our great partners at Hornbeck Offshore Services.”
