Opportunities in Offshore Energy Creates Expansion for SAL Brand
The rapidly expanding market for offshore wind is continuing to attract more shipping companies seeking to realize the perceived opportunities in the offshore renewables sector. In the latest move, Germany’s shipowner Harren & Partner announced it is expanding its SAL brand to become a supplier of specialized vessels, as well as maintenance and installation solutions, to the offshore wind industry.
The new company, SAL Renewables, seeks to leverage the recognized SAL Heavy Lift brand which is a well-known heavy lift shipping company. The new brand will also seek to build on its parent company, the Harren & Partner Group, which is already a logistics provider to contractors and turbine manufacturers in the offshore wind sector.
Harren also announced that it was assigning the 2010-built dynamic positioning (DP) jack-up crane vessel Wind Lift I as the first asset of the new business. According to the company, the specialized vessel is ideally suited for offshore wind maintenance projects as well as the installation of wind turbine parts. With a 500 ton capacity, high outreach offshore crane, and a fully equipped accommodation block for up to 50 people, the reported that the vessel already has a strong track record.
“Wind Lift I represents an important enhancement of our fleet. It extends our scope of action to provide our customers with comprehensive, yet customized solutions,” says Heiko Felderhoff, Managing Director of SAL Renewables. “Wind Lift I is a highly adaptable vessel. There are only a few things that it can’t do, it’s kind of like a Swiss army knife. This asset makes for a great start for our new venture with SAL Renewables.”
Matthieu Moerman, Head of Projects at SAL Renewables, adds: “Megawatts capacity of wind parks keep increasing and old wind parks will need to be renewed with new turbines or decommissioned. With Wind Lift I we are not only targeting the installation and maintenance market but also decommissioning and upgrading of old existing wind parks.”
Demonstrating the vessel's capabilities, despite the season’s unpredictable weather patterns, the Wind Lift I was recently successfully deployed by SAL for a hydraulic hammer test as part of an offshore wind project in the North Sea.
In addition to the Wind Lift I, SAL Renewables also has access to the offshore DP2 heavy lift ship Blue Giant.
“The world’s demand for energy is higher than ever before, and a major energy transition is currently underway,” said Dr. Martin Harren, Managing Director of Harren & Partner. “The projects resulting from this change are crucial to our business. SAL Renewables is a perfect supplement to our established logistics business. By offering maintenance and component installation services predominantly for the wind turbines themselves, we are expanding our total service offerings to the global renewables market while also meeting the toughest individual demands and expectations in the offshore markets.”