创造性地解决风能问题

Creative solution to wind problem

一次长期性的船舶包租和改装为海上风力发电领域指明了方向。德国NSW公司是服务全球客户的海底光缆通信及海上电力电缆的领先制造商。最近,该公司与芬兰Meriaura公司旗下的多用途船Aura签下了一份为期5年的合同。

A long-term charter and conversion is pointing the way for the offshore wind-farm sector.A creative fixture and vessel conversion is giving the offshore wind-farm sector a much-needed alternative to expensive ships from offshore oil,which seems to be just what the doctor ordered for charterers in renewable energy.Germany's Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke(NSW) has signed a contract for Finnish owner Meriaura's 4,700-dwt multipurpose(MPP) vessel Aura(built 2008) for five years.Key to the deal is the length of German charterer's commitment,as long-term contracts have been exceedingly rare in the wind-farm sector.The five-year term has given the Finnish owner the security it needs to carry out extensive upgrades to provide a windfarm vessel tailored to the NSW's requirements.No charter rate has been released for the contract.Both Meriaura and Force3 Offshore,which is the wind-farm specialist broking shop involved,decline to reveal any commercial figures attached to the deal.However,TradeWinds understands the German charterer could be paying in the region of EUR 10,000($13,500) per day less than what it would have to pay for a suitable construction-support vessel(CSV) from the offshore-oil sector.