Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam designs first SWATH type SOV for DEME

Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam and DEME have designed the first SWATH type Service Operation Vessel (SOV) in the world for the Belgium based DEME. The new complex one-off vessel design for offshore wind farm maintenance makes use of Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) technology, which is known to provide minimum motions even in high sea state The innovative design is developed in close cooperation with DEME and aims to dramatically improve safety, comfort and workability for transfer of maintenance workers to offshore wind turbines, even in the roughest sea conditions.

In close cooperation with DEME, the ideas and requirements were integrated by Vuyk into an optimised design. An important focus of the design process went into aspects such as minimizing motions at both transit speed and zero speed, integrating the propulsion power and configuration for a DP2 system in combination with maximum attention to weight control. Together with the main operational requirements for crew and cargo transfer, operability and crew comfort, these have determined the innovative shape and lay-out of the vessel. 

“Vuyk utilized it’s all in-house knowledge to define a full concept and basic design package.”, says Floris Toetenel, Sales Manager at Vuyk. “As intermediate delivery, a tender package facilitated an early start of DEME’s yard tendering procedure. We feel honoured that our many years of engineering experience, the integrated design knowledge and extensive track record in tailor made designs gave DEME the confidence that Vuyk was the right strategic partner for this project”.

At 60 m long, the vessel is designed according the latest comfort standards, allowing the vessel to be a homely offshore base for up to 24 technicians and a nautical crew. The extremely low motions do allow safe crew transfers in significant wave heights of up to 2.5 m. Environmental considerations are an important element of the vessel design. With the DP2 installation, the vessel can hold its position in rough sea conditions but still operate with lower fuel consumption than traditional SOVs.