While on land the Fécamp offshore wind farm site is progressing with the construction of gravity foundations in the port of Le Havre, preparation work for offshore installations continues with a view to starting in the first quarter of 2022. Daily updates offshore personnel will be transferred to ensure the construction and maintenance phases of the park. After an international call for tenders, the Rouen company TSM (Thomas Services Maritimes), associated with the company Windcat Workboats, was selected to carry out these transfers.
TSM will provide a dedicated crew transfer vessel (CTV – Crew Transfer Vessel), which will be built at the Delavergne nautical shipyards in Avrillé in Vendée (85), before being suitably equipped and motorized. This type of vessel, with a length of 25 meters, is in fact specially built to meet the specific needs of personnel transfers at sea on wind turbine platforms, such as the 71 which will be installed off the coast of Fécamp.
A major operator in the Rouen port area with a European presence, TSM already operates on offshore wind farms with other vessels in its fleet and relies for this future service on the expertise of its leading European partner in subject Windcat Workboats.
Bertrand ALLANIC, Director of the Fécamp offshore wind farm of EDF Renewables declared on behalf of the consortium : “We are happy to contribute to the continued development of TSM, a Rouen company, which has been involved in wind power for several years. For the Fécamp offshore wind farm, this is further proof of its desire to give the project a strong Normandy anchor. This marks a new stage in the realization of the park and more particularly its maintenance which will be managed from the base currently being finalized on the peninsula of the port of Fécamp. ".
Loïc THOMAS, President of the TSM Group and TSM Windcat added : “We are extremely happy to support the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm with our high-quality French CTVs. As this project is under construction, we are already ready, with our long-standing partner Windcat Workboats, to provide our client with a fleet of modern, reliable and efficient vessels, at the cutting edge of technology. The TSM Windcat 53 and TSM Windcat 54 vessels which are being built for the Park, according to the new HSC rules of the French flag, will be able to transport up to 26 passengers at a cruising speed of 26 knots. We are now busy recruiting and training the French TSM Windcat teams, on land and at sea, with the support of our partner Windcat Workboats, and we look forward to commencing operations in 2022 in Fécamp. ".
About the Fécamp offshore wind farm
Led by EDF Renewables, EIH Sarl (owned by Enbridge Inc. and CPP Investments) and wpd Offshore, the Fécamp offshore wind farm, with a capacity of nearly 500 MW, will be made up of 71 wind turbines located between 13 and 22 km offshore. Under construction since 2020, its commissioning is planned for 2023. It will then produce the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 770,000 people, or more than 60% of the inhabitants of Seine-Maritime.
For more information, click HERE
PRESS CONTACT
Future Partners Agency
Jean-Marc Deverre
06 24 48 19 80 – jeanmarc.deverre@partenairesdavenir.com