GC Rieber Shipping (RISH) has placed an order for two firm WindKeeper vessels at Cemre shipyard in Turkey. The order includes options for further two vessels. First vessel will be delivered in Q1 2025.
WindKeeper is an innovative Service Operation Vessel (SOV) based on Small Water Area Twin Hull (SWATH) methodology and design. The design offers improved operability, ultra-low fuel consumption and option of fully electric operations in field.
Commencing development in 2016, GC Rieber Shipping has spent vast resources in developing and testing the WindKeeper, ensuring Tier 1+ performance.
Development includes close cooperation with key equipment suppliers, detailed simulations and several rounds of tank tests, latest at SINTEF, Norway in 2022.
WindKeeper has been developed to deliver two key value adding attributes to clients and the offshore wind market;
- A substantial lower environmental footprint compared to monohull. The first generation WindKeeper will deliver substantial reduced emissions from day 1
- Sea and station keeping performance widening the operational window in a safe and efficient manner
The stand-alone company structure WindKeeper AS, wholly owned by GC Rieber Shipping, has been set up for the WindKeeper vessels. Total investment in WindKeeper is abt. EUR 110 million.
The project and vessels are fully financed through a combination of equity and debt financing. Sparebanken Vest and Eksfin has provided long term loan facilities of minimum EUR 51 million.
“In 2020, GC Rieber Shipping made a strategic decision to become a pure shipowner and project-house with focus on developing profitable and sustainable maritime projects. We are proud to launch WindKeeper as our first project. The solidity of environmental and operational performances of WindKeeper are a testament to the strong technical capabilities within GC Rieber Shipping. Coming off close to a decade of downturn in the offshore industry, being able to finance and realize such a project on a stand-alone basis, further evidences the strong capacities of the project house. Our ambition is to build WindKeeper into a substantial and valuable player in the offshore wind industry,” GC Rieber Shipping CEO Einar Ytredal, said in a comment.
Christoffer Knudsen, GC Rieber Shipping CCO, said; “We look forward to showing future clients and the market the exceptional performance of WindKeeper! WindKeeper will drive down charterers daily costs and substantially reduce their emissions, improving their environmental footprint. We believe WindKeeper will be a preferred alternative for this decade. WindKeeper’s Charge2Work, zero emission alternative, further allows for the option of fully electric operations in field.”