Nekkar awarded crane contract for offshore wind vessel

Nekkar ASA (Nekkar), through the recently acquired Techano Group, has been awarded a contract to deliver an offshore crane to a newbuild cable-lay support vessel (CLSV) that Sefine Shipyard is building for Norwegian shipowner Agalas.

Under the contract, Nekkar will deliver a 70-tonnes offshore crane capable of performing both subsea installation and removal operations plus topside 3D-compensated lifting operations in conjunction with wind farm developments and operations. The total contract value, including certain options, is approximately EUR 4 million.

The knuckle boom crane is equipped with an active heave compensated (AHC) winch with 2,000 metre wire for subsea operation, and a separate 3-tonne 3D active motion compensated lifting tool, for topside lifts. The crane features Intellilift’s state of the art control system and motion compensating system.

“We have developed a crane that is ideal for vessels operating on offshore wind farms. It can perform subsea lifting operations and is capable of supporting wind farm operations with lifting of equipment and tools necessary to operate and maintain wind turbines. It offers a flexibility that improves the commercial potential for the shipowner while it also reduces operating costs for operators of wind farms,” says Øystein Bondevik, director of business development and sales at Nekkar.

ACQUISITION AS ENABLER

It is Nekkar’s recently announced acquisition of Techano Group that has opened the door for the crane contract. Techano has extensive industry experience with product delivery and project execution within the renewables, aquaculture and marine industries.

The strategy for the add-on was to combine Nekkar’s in-house automation, electrification, and software competence, with industry specialist personnel from Techano who are specialists in load-handling and lifting equipment for the renewable, aquaculture, offshore and marine industries.

Nekkar’s subsidiary company Intellilift will deliver the crane’s digital control system, leveraging sensors, cameras, and software.

“Our joint ambition is to deliver smart, lightweight, and energy efficient lifting and handling solutions that are fully automated and digitized, capable of challenging the incumbent solutions in the market. This contract demonstrates that bringing Techano into Nekkar was a good enabler for both parties,” adds Ole Falk Hansen, CEO of Nekkar ASA.

DELIVERY IN 2024

Nekkar will conduct the engineering and project management from the group’s headquarter in Kristiansand, Norway. The completed crane will be delivered to Nekkar’s contract partner, Sefine Shipyard in Turkey, in 2024.

Norway-based NSK Ship Design has designed the dual-fuel methanol vessel that is 99 metres long, 21 metres wide and equipped with a battery pack. It has been designed to perform installation of inter-array cables at offshore wind farms. When not installing cables, the ship can operate in other sectors of the offshore industry, including light construction and cable repair.