Tom Todd writes: the contract for the 139m long and 38m wide self-loading ship, with a transport capacity of up to 6,500 dwt, was signed Wednesday in Hamburg by Sietas and Dutch operator Van Oord. The price was kept a secret.

The newbuilding, scheduled for delivery in September 2012, will be capable of operating in up to 45m of water. It will draw 5.7m, have a top speed of 12 knots and be able to hold its position even in heavy seas.

Van Oord also secured an option for a sister ship.

German crane maker NMF, which is also part of the Sietas Group, will equip the ship with a special offshore crane capable of lifting 900 tons 120m with a 30m outreach.

Yard chief Rüdiger Fuchs said the contract had secured access to the offshore wind energy growth market for Sietas and had been won over “tough international competition from the Netherlands, China and the UAE”. Fuchs added: “We are the first (yard) in Germany to win such work. Previously orders for these specialised ships have gone abroad”.

The new work means Sietas now has six special ships on order. The others are a heavy lift ship, a dredger and three ferries. It has delivered five special ships this year. Sietas handed over its private family management in 2009 after coming close to collapse. Fuchs and his colleagues have since turned the yard’s fortunes round.