Van Oord Books Eidesvik Offshore Vessel for Offshore Wind Trenching Support

Dutch marine services firm Van Oord has, via its offshore wind subsidiary Van Oord Offshore Wind,  awarded Eidesvik Offshore a five-year contract for its Subsea Viking multi-purpose support vessel.

The contract, of an undisclosed value, will start in the first quarter of 2023, Norway-based offshore vessel owner Eidesvik Offshore said. Van Oord will also have further extension options and, "on certain" terms, a call option for the vessel after the firm period.  

The contract comes just days after Eidesvik Offshore said it had won a contract extension for the Subsea Viking that should keep the vessel busy until 2022-end. Read more here. 

In recent period the vessel has been used to support offshore survey operations in the oil and gas sector, and now it will move to the renewables market.

Gitte Gard Talmo, CEO & President of Eidesvik, said: "We are very pleased with this contract award by Van Oord, a leading international player in the offshore wind market. The contract will expand Eidesvik’s presence in the renewables market, and we look forward to building a strong and long-standing relationship with this important new client.” 

Arnoud Kuis, Managing Director of Offshore Wind at Van Oord said: “The vessel will be deployed at various Van Oord projects, as a trenching support vessel, and will be the main platform for the Van Oord trencher Dig-It.”

The Dig-It is Tracked Remotely Operated Vehicle (TROV), with its tracks as its primary method of propulsion. It is a remote-controlled trench jetting and cutting system as well as a cable burial system. 

Its first project was the cable burial work at the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm in Germany in 2018.

Dig-it on deck - Credit: Van Oord (file photo)