Wilhelmsen Ships Service Assists Wind Farm

Wilhelmsen Ships Service has been awarded a contract to handle all the ships agency calls for the main contractor to the Belwind Project, one of the largest new green energy projects in the world.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service Belgium has signed an agency agreement with Van Oord Belgie to act as full agent in the port of Zeebrugge for their port calls during the Belwind Project. The Dutch contractor Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors have been awarded the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the first part of the Belwind offshore wind farm project. Van Oord is an international enterprise with dredging and marine contracts around the world. Their origins lie in the history of the Low Countries and their struggle against water.

The wind farm will be constructed on the Blight Bank, 46 km off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium. The construction will be in two phases and 55 turbines will be built in each phase. The project started on 1 September 2009 and is scheduled for completion in November 2010.  During that time Wilhelmsen Ships Service will handle approximately 655 port calls.  These are mainly for crew vessels bringing labour daily to and from the site tug boats towing the 55 monopiles for the construction and pontoons bringing equipment to and from site.  Wilhelmsen Ships Service Belgium will also be responsible for arranging crew changes for all labour and vessels’ crew involved.

(www.wilhelmsen.com/shipsservice)