Damen introduces fully electric offshore wind farm service vessel

The SOV 7017 E, developed by the Dutch shipbuilding company, is 70.1m (229.9ft) long and fitted with a 15MWhr battery, which the company says is sufficient to power the vessel during a full day of operations.

The battery is lithium iron phosphate (LFP), as opposed to the more conventional lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery type. Damen says this maximises the vessel’s ‘sustainable credentials’, as LFP batteries offer the advantage of being less dependent on sensitive raw materials, particularly cobalt, as well as being less susceptible to ignition.

In the event that the vessel cannot access electricity for a short period, the SOV 7017 E features full redundancy and is able to continue operations with conventional diesel propulsion.

The propulsion system features four azimuth thrusters, which provide propulsion independently in any direction and offer considerably reduced underwater noise levels, according to the company.

Damen has partnered with UK-based MJR Power & Automation to develop the offshore charging system, as the company had previously developed a similar system for offshore charging for a crew transfer vessel.