The Windward Offshore joint venture around the Rickmers company ASSC has secured financing for four vessels.
The financing agreement signed at the end of last year with the French bank Crédit Agricole and Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) includes a credit facility of up to €182 million. This secures the financing of four Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOV).
The Asian Steamship Company (ASSC), managed by Rickmer Clasen Rickmers, had joined forces with several partners in the Windward Offshore joint venture in 2023. The Norwegian shipyard group Vard, which belongs to the Italian Fincantieri Group, initially ordered two offshore special-purpose vessels, followed by two more a few months later.
They are to be delivered from the third quarter of 2025 until the end of 2026 and are designed to improve efficiency and safety during the commissioning and operation of offshore wind farms.
The founding partners of Windward Offshore are SeaRenergy Offshore from the ASSC Group, Blue Star Group – an investment company founded by Erck Rickmers – the shipping company Diana Shipping and SeraVerse.
The 87.5 m long vessels have a width of 19.5 m and will be equipped with a height-adjustable, motion-compensated gangway with elevator system and a height-adjustable mooring system. For energy-efficient operation at sea, all CSOVs will be equipped with Vard Electro’s SeaQ package and are also suitable for subsequent operation with “green” methanol. They offer space for 120 people.
All four ships were designed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway. The hulls of two vessels will be built in one of the Vard shipyards in Romania, while the final outfitting, commissioning and delivery will take place in Norway and the other two vessels will be delivered in Vietnam. They will support energy companies worldwide in the construction, commissioning and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
