A milestone for SMST. The Dutch company that designs and builds offshore equipment is going to deliver its modular mission equipment to the first ever Service Operation Vessel (SOV) to operate in Taiwanese waters. SMST’s system package will be at the heart of the vessel’s operations, ensuring safe and efficient transfer of the vessel’s personnel and cargo.

Recently, Vard Vung Tau shipyard in Vietnam has awarded SMST the contract for the delivery of an Access & Cargo Tower with motion compensated gangway and 3D Motion Compensated Crane for the new build SOV of Ta San Shang Marine, joint venture of Japanese ship owner MOL and the Taiwanese Ta Tong Marine. The vessel will serve a long-term maintenance contract for Ørsted in the new Greater Changhua offshore wind farm in the Taiwan Strait, starting in Q1-2022.

With this order SMST enlarges its strong global portfolio. After building up a solid track record in various parts of the world, now it is time for the Taiwanese offshore wind market to discover the advantages of the SMST systems. “We are very excited to experience the equipment in our regional surroundings. The ship design is tuned to the circumstances in the Taiwan Strait and we hope that the SMST equipment well fits our design principles. We believe that the knowledge and experience of SMST in the offshore industry will benefit our operations”, says Mr. Hrong-Nain Lin, Director at Ta San Shang Marine.

On board the new build SOV, the SMST mission equipment helps to safely transfer the vessel’s maintenance personnel and cargo to the offshore wind turbines. The modular system package is complete with 3D crane, tower with elevator and motion compensated gangway. To increase efficiency and safety of the equipment even more, most recent market developments are included. “The gangway will be equipped with assisted landing and there will be a shared operator chair installed on the ship’s bridge to control both the crane and gangway. This will increase overall efficiency of the vessel”, explains Menno de Jong, Sales Manager at SMST, “We are really looking forward putting our proven system in operation on this first Asian SOV.” SMST will deliver its equipment in Q3-2021.