The SOV vessel Windea Leibniz returns to Ulstein Verft for an upgrade. After installation of an adjustable pedestal for the gangway, and a 50 per cent increase of single cabins for charterers, the vessel will be ready for assignments in the Baltic Sea as well as the North Sea, and with a status as a CSOV.

“The vessel was delivered by Ulstein Verft in 2017 and appears brand new as if delivered yesterday. The quality and finishing are outstanding. That is one of the reasons why we choose to do the upgrade at Ulstein Verft,” says Managing Director Matthias Müller at Bernhard Schulte Offshore.

“After the conversion, this will be one of very few vessels with 60 single cabins for charterers, compared to the current 40. This means that we can take more people in, enabling the vessel to operate as a Construction-SOV. Further, the installation of an adjustable pedestal for the Uptime gangway means that the vessel can cater all TP heights of the North Sea. Furthermore, it will be one of the few purpose-built SOVs which can work in the Baltic Sea which has lower TP heights.

The Windea Leibniz has proven to be a very capable vessel from the start. “She has successfully worked five years for Siemens Gamesa, performing efficient service at the Sandbank and DanTysk offshore wind farms as part of their Service Train Concept. After that, she did a summer campaign for GE at the Merkur Offshore wind farm. Lately, she has supported the installation of the infield cables for a wind farm under construction in the Baltic Sea”, Müller explains.

The Windea Leibniz arrived at Ulstein Verft on 31 October 2022 and the upgrade is scheduled for completion in February 2023. “We have high expectations of this vessel, she is already a top-of-the-class vessel with a very low fuel oil consumption in DP mode. Now we intend to strengthen her operational flexibility further,” ends Müller.