Vard, the Norwegian subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group, has signed a new contract with North Star, the largest owner-operator in the United Kingdom, for the design and construction of two service operation vessels (SOV), order - ha announced today the Italian group - which has a value between 100 and 200 million euros. The contract represents the ninth and the tenth unit commissioned by North Star to Vard after the previous orders for four SOVs, two construction services operation vessel (CSOV) and two Vard Design units built at an external construction site.

The new units will be developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway, using the proven platform VARD 4 19, designed specifically for park operations offshore wind turbines. Each ship will have a length of 87.5 meters, a width of 19.5 meters and can accommodate up to 120 people. The units will be equipped with a propulsion system battery hybrid and prepared for future conversion to methanol feeding. On-board equipment includes a walkway with motion compensation and adjustable height integrated with elevator, a boarding system for transfers staff security and advanced management solutions Energy.

The hull construction of the first unit will take place at the Vard shipyard in Romania - Braila, followed by from final outfitting and delivery to one of the Norwegian shipyards of the group, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. The second unit will instead be entirely built and delivered from the Vard Vung Tau shipyard in Vietnam, with delivery scheduled for fourth quarter of 2028.