The Hamburg-based shipping joint venture Windward Offshore has taken delivery of the fourth – and, for the time being, final – vessel in a series of newbuilds for the offshore market.
“Windward Hamburg” is the fourth Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) in the series commissioned from the Vard shipyard group. “Windward Athens”, “Windward Paris” and “Windward Munich” had already been commissioned previously. With this fleet, the fledgling shipping company intends to operate in offshore wind projects during the construction, commissioning and long-term operational phases.
Windward Offshore was only established in 2023 and has since attracted attention with a number of projects. The founding partners are SeaRenergy Offshore, part of the Rickmers family’s ASSC Group; Blue Star Group – an investment firm founded by Erck Rickmers –; the shipping company Diana Shipping; and SeraVerse. In 2025, the Japanese trading group Marubeni acquired a stake in the shipping company – in conjunction with a capital increase.
Vessels built in Romania and Norway
The newbuilds, constructed in Romania and Norway, are based on the 4-19 design by the shipyard group, which is part of the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri. They are 87.5 m long, 19.5 m wide and can accommodate up to 120 people. Like its sister vessel, the ‘Windward Munich’, the ‘Windward Hamburg’ also features a helideck, which is intended to increase operational flexibility and provide an additional option for the safe transfer of personnel between the vessel and the wind turbine.
Other features include a height-adjustable, motion-compensated gangway with an integrated lift, an electric, motion-compensated crane, a height-adjustable boat mooring system, and a battery-hybrid propulsion system designed for future operation with green methanol.
“The delivery of the ‘Windward Hamburg’ is a very special moment for us. What began as an ambitious new-build programme has developed into a fleet of four state-of-the-art CSOVs. Vard has been a key partner on this journey, contributing extensive expertise in shipbuilding and a clear understanding of our objectives,” said Bastian Hagebeuker, Managing Director of Windward Offshore. Now that all four vessels have been delivered and are either already in service or will be shortly, a “strong foundation for the next stage of development” for Windward Offshore has been laid.
