Vessel Windea Leibniz upgrade was completed at Ulstein Verft
On 4 February 2023, the Windea Leibniz upgrade was completed at Ulstein Verft. With an increase of cabins from 60 to over 80, the vessel has transitioned from an SOV to a CSOV. Additionally, the yard has installed one extra pedestal on the stern for Baltic Sea operations to complement the existing North Sea pedestal.
The upgrade expands the operational range of Windea Leibniz and makes her even more attractive for the offshore market.
The upgrade included a 50% increase in accommodation capacities on board. Therefore, extensive reconstruction of the changing/drying rooms, conference rooms and day rooms was executed. In total, the cabin capacity was increased from 63 to 81 cabins. Windea Leibniz is now enabled to accommodate up to 85 technical staff for wind farms, service personnel and crew.
Another major milestone was the installation of a new height-adjustable pedestal for the motion-compensated gangway, making the vessel more flexible in offshore wind farms. Now the gangway can operate in a range between 17.5 metres and 23 metres height above the waterline when fully extended.
When Bernhard Schulte Offshore decided to install a second pedestal for the gangway at the stern, it was based on the knowledge that hardly any other operating offshore wind service vessels could take on assignments in the Baltic Sea as well as in the North Sea. In the Baltic Sea, service platforms are generally lower located than in the North Sea. The existing gangway can be used on both pedestals.
Rainer Mueller, Captain on the Windea Leibniz says, “With the two new pedestals, we are more flexible when approaching the service platforms for the wind turbines. There is no uniform standard for the height of the platforms in North Sea wind farms. After the yard stay, we can now vary the height of our gangway. With the Baltic pedestal at the stern, we can easily switch our gangway from the North Sea height to the lower Baltic Sea height, which makes us even more flexible when working in different wind farm regions. The new cabins allow us to accommodate more technicians on board. All this really makes ‘Windea Leibniz’ the new it-girl on the CSOV market.”
Ulstein’s designers and engineers have been involved in the structural engineering work for this upgrade. This includes enforcement of the bridge to carry the gangway which is now parked on the bridge roof. The area for the base of the pedestal also needed to be strengthened.
“The new upgrades make a very capable vessel even more versatile. Now our ‘Windea Leibniz’ is more flexible and attractive for the market. The upgrade was perfectly planned and executed by Ulstein. My thanks go to everyone involved in this great project”, says Matthias Mueller, Managing Director of Bernhard Schulte Offshore.
The Windea Leibniz is an ULSTEIN SX175 design from Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and was delivered as a newbuild from Ulstein Verft in 2017. She features the X-STERN and X-BOW solutions for increased comfort and reduced noise and vibrations and is also X-BOW vessel number 100 from Ulstein Group.
Windea Leibniz is now ready to support the planned offshore wind power expansion in Northern Europe. The vessel functions as a reliable and environmentally sound platform for wind farm operations and maintenance support, technician accommodation and transport, and the provision of safe and reliable access to offshore installations.
