The Wind of Change is a maintenance ship for offshore wind turbines, was built in Turkey at the Cemre shipyard for the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group (LDA) and works for the Danish energy group Ørsted .
The maintenance ship, known in technical terms as the Service Operation Vessel (SOV), is used in a long-term charter in the wind farms “ Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2” and “Gode Wind 1 and 2” off the German coast. Ørsted operates the ship, which is equipped with a diesel-electric drive and dynamic positioning DP2. It offers space for 90 people, including 65 wind farm technicians who are on board to carry out turbine maintenance.
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With a length of 83 m, width of 19.4 m and draft of 7 m, it is measured with 6,060 GT. Two 1,600 kW Schottel azimuth radiators at the stern serve to propel the diesel-electric ship. Two 1,400 kW tunnel thrusters and a retractable azimuth thruster of 880 kW are located in the bow to enable dynamic positioning according to the DP2 standard. The electricity required for this is generated by four generators that are driven by 1,600 kW MAN diesel engines at 1,000 rpm. A 200 kW emergency power generator is also available. The ship's range is around 5,000 miles at 10 knots in DP mode. The maximum speed is 12.5 knots.
The wind park technicians can access the landing platforms of the wind park towers directly via a special, hydraulically stabilized gangway . This gangway is located on a telescopic tower on the quarterdeck on the port side of the ship. The gangway with a double extension extends over 31 meters and can be operated up to a wave height of 2.5 meters. In addition, a passive anti-roll system with two tanks was installed to reduce ship movements when working at sea. The deck is designed for the stowage of four 20-foot containers. There is a daughter boat for the transfer of the wind park technicians across the water, which was accommodated in a special davit system in a hull recess on the starboard side below the superstructure.
