The challenge:  As offshore wind farms increase in both capacity and distance from shore, operations, and maintenance (O&M) strategies are seeing a shift from port-based Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) to field-based Service Operation Vessels (SOVs).

For CTV operations the tender process (and thus required technical documentation) is relatively standardised, however the SOV process is less standardised and arguably more complex. Requests for multiple versions of the same information by vessel charterers, and information supplied in varying formats by information providers (such as vessel owners, operators, and charter brokers) leads to inefficiencies that result in excess time and expense.

The solution:  The Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) partners, as vessel charterers, commissioned a project with the aim of lowering the cost of the SOV chartering process by standardising the required technical tender documentation. The project reviewed the present state of SOV technical documentation and produced a standard template that can be used to support future SOV chartering processes, the SOV technical specification tender template.