As reported by ET Infra, A major operator in the offshore infrastructure support sector, North Star Shipping (Aberdeen) Ltd, based in the United Kingdom, which operates vessels in the North Sea, has placed an order for a hybrid Service Operation Vessel (SOV) at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. The order positions Cochin Shipyard as a prominent builder of high-end and niche ships for the global renewable energy market.
Shipping industry sources have revealed that building an SOV currently costs around Rs450 crores. The contract also includes the option for placing order for an additional SOV, used for providing support services to the commissioning and maintenance operations of the offshore wind industry.
The SOV will be designed by Norway’s VARD AS, one of the world’s top designers and shipbuilders of specialized vessels.
North Star owns the largest wholly UK-owned fleet engaged in the North Sea.
The order boosts North Star’s offshore wind capabilities as it pursues its ambition to add 40 hybrid powered SOV’s to its fleet by 2040 to meet the evolving demand of offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) logistical support across the UK and Europe.
Cochin Shipyard is currently building two Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOV’s) for another European client. CSOVs are highly versatile platforms for all offshore windfarm support operations, focusing on onboard logistics, comfort, large storage capacities and superior operability.
With the new SOV contract, Cochin Shipyard strengthens its footprint in the high-end and niche global renewable energy segment towards sustainable solutions.
Windfarm Service and Maintenance vessels are listed as ‘specialised vessels’ eligible to receive a subsidy from the government per a ‘Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy’ introduced in March 2016 for a ten-year period.
Cochin Shipyard will receive an extra 14 per cent on the contract price of the Service Operation Vessel as subsidy.
The financial assistance to shipbuilders, both state-owned and private, is valid for a ten-year period beginning 1 April 2016, scaling down the quantum by three percentage points every three years, starting with 20 percent during the first three years, 17 percent for the next three years, 14 percent for the subsequent three years and 11 percent in the tenth year.
Source: ET Infra
