Taiwan-flagged service operation vessel delivered

The TSS Pioneer was constructed through Ta San Shang Marine, a joint company of MOL and Ta Tong Marine. It will soon sail to Taiwan and will be chartered to Ørsted.

The vessel is specially designed and equipped for the complicated and harsh environment in the Taiwan Strait. It features a motion-compensated walk to work gangway to ensure safe access onto the wind turbines for the O&M technicians. It will house up to 60 technicians plus the crew and will only need to return to shore once a month.

The SOV will also use a dynamic positioning system to automatically maintain its position and a 3D motion-compensated crane to mitigate wind induced motions on the loads to ensure that technicians can carry out maintenance in a safe environment. As their ‘home away from home’, the SOV will feature comfortable cabins, a recreational lounge area, fitness facilities, and a variety of healthy catering.

In addition, the vessel will have a design of environmentally improved capabilities. It will be prepared for fossil fuel-free operation and have an optimised hull design and a battery-hybrid setup to help reduce fuel consumption and decrease carbon footprint.

The high specifications are drawn from Ørsted’s state-of-the-art SOV fleet deployed in Europe.

This vessel will support the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms, the first large-scale and far shore wind farms in Taiwan, which are being constructed by Ørsted 35-60 kilometres off the coast of Changhua County. The SOV will use the Port of Taichung as its base port, where Ørsted’s future O&M facilities will be located, due to its proximity to the sites, water depths for accommodating deep draft vessels, and navigational access.

In June 2018, Ørsted was awarded the right to build another 920MW offshore wind in Taiwan through its Greater Changhua 2b & 4 sites. Changhua 2b & 4 are to be built in 2025, subject to Ørsted taking final investment decision on the projects in 2023.

Ørsted is also the co-owner of Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, Formosa 1, which was extended from a capacity of 8MW to 128MW in 2019.