Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) has held a ceremony to name and launch the crew transfer vessel Alfonsino Arrow, built to support offshore wind projects in Japan.
The event took place on 12 December at Kosaba Shipbuilding in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture. According to NYK Line, Alfonsino Arrow is the company’s first crew transfer vessel ordered from a Japanese shipyard.
The vessel will be used to move technicians and other personnel who work on building and servicing offshore wind farms in Japanese waters.
Constructed as an aluminium catamaran, Alfonsino Arrow is about 28 m in length with a beam of roughly 9 m and a gross tonnage of around 145 tonnes. The design is based on an existing crew transfer vessel from Northern Offshore Services, a European company within the NYK Group, and has been adapted to meet Japanese regulatory and operational requirements. NYK Line said key materials and equipment for the vessel were sourced in Japan.
Masato Yamada, CEO of JERA Nex BP Japan, also attended the 12 December ceremony. As part of the Oga Katagami Akita Offshore Green Energy joint venture, JERA Nex BP Japan recently entered into a long-term time-charter agreement with NYK Line for a crew transfer vessel that will serve the first offshore wind project in Japan’s general sea area.
