Serving Taiwan's wind farms! VARD wins CYAN's first SOV construction contract
After obtaining the offshore wind farm service contract in Taiwan, Singapore startup CYAN Renewables officially signed the first wind power operation and maintenance vessel (SOV) construction contract. However, contrary to previous industry expectations, this order was not received by Chinese shipping companies.
On February 14th, Norwegian shipbuilding group VARD announced that it had signed a design and construction contract with CYAN for a hybrid SOV. The new ship will adopt the VARD 419 design and will be built, outfitted, debugged, and delivered by VARD Vietnam's Touton Shipyard. It is planned to be put into operation in the second quarter of 2026. VARD did not disclose the specific shipping price.
According to the plan, this new ship will fulfill a 15 year lease agreement with Siemens Gamesa after delivery, providing services for 73 offshore wind turbines at the Hailong Wind Farm in Changhua, Taiwan. The ship will be equipped with Siemens' BlueDrive PlusC propulsion system to achieve optimal energy efficiency.
VARD introduced that the ship is specifically tailored for the service operation of Siemens Gomesa at the Hailong Wind Farm. The ship has first-class position retention performance, as well as high fuel efficiency solutions and logistics support.
This diesel electric hybrid ship is designed using modern DC technology and is combined for the first time with two extendable azimuth thrusters, allowing the ship to operate for longer periods of time during wind farm operation using only one variable speed generator set in addition to the battery. This, together with permanent magnet motors used for propellers, provides ships with extremely high energy efficiency and optimal dynamic positioning performance and noise reduction.
The ship was developed in close collaboration between Vard Design and CYAN, and adopted the latest propulsion solution developed by Vard Design. Vard Electric, another subsidiary of VARD, will provide SeaQ equipment and green solutions, including SeaQ bridges, as well as fully integrated power and automation solutions. Vard Interiors will provide HVAC and interior concepts aimed at creating a good living and working environment for ships.
In addition to the FIV letter of intent from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, last year CYAN also signed a memorandum of understanding with China Merchants Group Heavy Industry (Shenzhen), planning to build the first wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). However, neither of these agreements reached a formal construction contract.
It is understood that CYAN was launched by Seraya Partners, an infrastructure management company headquartered in Singapore, in September 2022. It is the world's first pure offshore wind farm ship operator, serving the rapidly growing offshore wind farm industry in Asia. CYAN owns, operates, and leases vessels throughout the entire offshore wind farm value chain, including crew transfer vessels (CTVs), service operation vessels (SOVs), and wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs).
Last year, CYAN acquired a SOV "Groenewind" built in 2021 from Belgium's DEME company, becoming the first ship in its fleet. In January of this year, CYAN announced the acquisition of 75% of Sentinel Marine, a British company that owns a fleet of 13 marine auxiliary ships, emergency response ships, and rescue ships. This acquisition aims to strengthen CYAN's position in the UK offshore wind power market and increase its local market share.
