France's Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) and UK owner Tidal Transit have won a contract to build two crew transfer vessels (CTVs) for offshore wind farm work.
The ships will work for GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind off Saint-Nazaire in France.
The CTVs will be designed by naval architect Mauric and built by French shipyard Ocea Shipbuilding.
LDA and Tidal have formed a joint venture, LD Tide, to operate the vessels.
The ships, for which no price was given, will sail under the French flag and transfer up to 24 technicians to turbines. The new units will come with hybrid battery power and will be hydrogen-ready.
Building on previous sector deals
"This contract is a new success for the...group in the field of renewable energy," LDA said.
Subsidiary Louis Dreyfus TravOcean won inter-array power cable work with EDF Renewables in 2019, and with Denmark's Orsted in 2017 and 2018 for German and English wind farm maintenance.
LDA said the latest deal confirmed its position as a major player in the sector.
Construction of the two CTVs will start in 2021, with commissioning scheduled for 2022. Ocea will also build a third CTV for another unnamed owner.
The Saint-Nazaire farm will have 80 6MW wind turbines and will supply 20% of the electricity consumption of the Loire-Atlantique region.
"We are particularly proud of this first partnership with GE, a leading company in renewable energies", said Kamil Beffa, deputy chief executive of LDA.
Commitment strengthened
"We are strengthening our commitment to clean and renewable energies while confirming our strategy for more innovative maritime solutions in terms of comfort, personnel safety and respect of the environment."
Leo Hambro, commercial director of Tidal Transit, said his company was delighted to have created a new company in France with LDA.
The UK company has 10 years of experience in the offshore wind industry.
"Despite our late arrival in the sector in the UK, we are very happy to take part in this large-scale development phase in France, with a renowned local partner such as Louis Dreyfus Armateurs," Hambro added.
Family-owned LDA has 90 ships including bulkers and other offshore support vessels.
