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Trieste, December 9, 2021 – Vard, one of the major global shipbuilders of specialized vessels, has signed a contract for the design and construction of a further Service Operation Vessels (SOV) for the UK company North Star Group, which has already ordered three ships of the same type.

The vessel will enter in the shipowner’s hybrid-powered renewables fleet at the end of 2024. As for the other SOVs, it will be deployed on Dogger Bank Wind Farm, located more than 130 km off the North East coast of England, in the North Sea, which includes three areas (A, B and C) and once completed will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). In November 2021 SSE Renewables and Equinor, 50:50 joint venture partners in Dogger Bank C, announced Eni will take a 20% stake in the third phase, with SSE Renewables and Equinor maintaining 40% stakes each. The deal is expected to complete in Q1 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.

This achievement allows Vard to further strengthen its position in this particular segment of the offshore market and in the one of specialized high-performance vessels, even in the most challenging environmental conditions. The offshore renewable energy sector is in a transition phase, shifting from a European-only industry to a global market. Having already developed several concepts of this type of vessels, Vard will be able to take advantage of the sectors growing trend, with important activities being started both in Asia and North America, and large investments being made in Europe, as demonstrated by the result achieved today by the Norwegian company.