Kongsberg Maritime (KM) technology is at the centre of an ambitious new project to build a next-generation Wind Turbine Installation Unit (WTIU), destined to be among the largest of its type.

Kongsberg Maritime has signed a Letter of Intent with Chinese shipbuilder Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore to deliver a large technology package for the BT-220IU Wind Turbine Installation Unit. BT-220IU is to be built for the Norway-based company OIM Wind, with an option for another vessel of identical design. The vessel will be suitable for transporting and installing multiple sets of next- and future-generation wind turbines, and their foundations.

Crucial to the cost-effective and environmentally responsible profile of the new vessel, which is expected to be delivered by the end of 2022, is a Kongsberg Maritime Integrated Solution for Wind Turbine Installation Units. This well-proven solution combines KM’s motion control, propulsion and dynamic positioning functionalities to maintain operability in all conditions.

Monitoring and controlling of the KM components will be handled by a K-Chief 700 marine automation system, and the company’s scope of delivery is rounded out with a comprehensive Digital Solution with a new planning, advisory, monitoring and reporting tool to improve the safety and operation of the vessel.

Included in the delivery are Bergen LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) engines, together with an LNG Fuel Gas Supply System. KM’s new state of the art PM azimuth thrusters will secure optimised performance both for transit, manoeuvring and dynamic positioning. The scope of supply also includes an array of appropriate deck machinery.

The electrical system will make use of KM’s Energy Storage Solution, a green, load-smoothing initiative which will optimise power production and enable the vessel to operate for limited periods on battery power alone. By allowing these stretches of zero-emission running, the solution will reduce the need for installed power and minimise maintenance costs, and can reduce energy consumption by up to 30%.

With the highly efficient power plant running on LNG the vessel will be the most environmentally friendly WTIU built to date.

OIM founder, President and Chief Executive Oddgeir Indrestrand, said: “OIM have been working closely with Kongsberg Maritime for many years, and we are very happy to include their advanced range of future-proof equipment and solutions into our units.”

“It’s a source of real pride for us to be such an integral part of the specification for this new wind turbine installation unit,” says Brynjulv Standal, Vice President Sales-Offshore, Kongsberg Maritime. “The environmentally friendly principles which shape its design, construction and operation mirror our own ambitions to engender sustainability in offshore wind projects, and of course in all maritime sectors. Our technologies are a key element in achieving these green goals.”