Wind farm service vessels (WFSV / SOV / CTV)
Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV), Service Operation Vessels (SOV), and Walk-to-Work (W2W) vessels supporting offshore wind installations. The fastest-growing offshore segment in 2026.
From Wikipedia
(Redirected from Crew transfer vessel)
Source: Crew boat · cached via Firecrawl
Work environment
Two distinct profiles. CTVs run day trips from base port (typically <12-hour shifts, home most nights — closest to a normal job in shipping). SOVs run 14-day or 28-day rotations with walk-to-work gangway transfer to turbines, hotel-class accommodation onboard for ~60 technicians. North Sea (UK + Germany + Netherlands + Denmark), Taiwan, and US East Coast are the main markets.
Common ranks onboard
Typical certificates
- BST
- PSCRB
- AFF
- MFA
- GWO Basic Safety Training (BST — different from STCW BST)
- DPO for SOV / W2W (DP2 typical)
- BOSIET / FOET (transferring industry standard)
Generate a tailored list with the STCW certificate checker.
Safety risks
- CTV-to-turbine bow-push transfer (slip + crush)
- DP failure during W2W gangway connection
- Weather windows + sea-state limits (Hs)
- Turbine-induced wake effects on small CTVs
Typical contract length
Day-trip + home (CTV) or 14/14 + 28/28 rotational (SOV) — Europe market.
Salary reference
/salaries/vessel/offshore-supply
Career pathway
/careers/offshore-dp
Related
Primary sources
Medium confidence
Last verified