Damen's FCS 7011: fast economical marine access

AMSTERDAM RAI

26&27

OCT 2021

Expanding your team to realise the energy transition?

The Navingo Career Event is the largest European career event of the maritime, o shore and energy sector. This annual event o ers jobseekers career opportunities at top companies in the industry. The 15th edition is being organised at Amsterdam RAI and part of O shore Energy Exhibition & Conference.

Looking to fulfi ll vacancies? Join the event! Your partnership includes a full service stand on the exhibition fl oor and exposure in the event programme.

Half of Boskalis Q1 offshore energy orders came from wind sector

Boskalis has reported a 10 per cent increase in the order book of its Offshore Energy division in the first quarter of the year (compared to the end of 2020), with around 50 per cent of new orders coming from the offshore wind sector.

The first quarter at the company’s Offshore Energy division proceeded in line with expectations with a slightly higher revenue level compared to the first quarter 2020, Boskalis said.

The main revenue contribution in the Subsea Intervention contracting part came from the Yunlin offshore wind project in Taiwan and a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit project in El Salvador. For its Subsea Cables segment, Boskalis said it had a relatively busy quarter with projects including Ostwind 2 grid connection in Germany and Moray East offshore wind farm in the UK in progress.

At Heavy Lifting, engineering preparations are in full swing for the Changfang & Xidao offshore wind project in Taiwan, which will enter execution phase later this year, Boskalis said.

For the services part of its Offshore Energy division, Boskalis reported lower utilisation of its heavy marine transport vessels compared to 2020 full year and a decrease in revenue in Marine Survey compared to early last year. Meanwhile, in the Subsea Services part, the acquisition of Rever Offshore at the end of 2020 and the associated fleet expansion contributed to a substantial growth in revenue.

The company added a number of vessels to its Offshore Energy fleet recently, including the multipurpose offshore construction vessel Boka Tiamat, which will be deployed on offshore wind projects in Taiwan, and a new geophysical survey vessel, Ocean Resolution, which has been in full operation since the first quarter.

Boskalis added that the conversion of the Bokalift 2 crane vessel, which will will be deployed on the Changfang & Xidao wind project immediately upon completion, was progressing well. Bokalift 2, formerly a drillship, is currently being converted into an offshore installation vessel at Drydocks World in Dubai.

The company also recently bought two new vessels that will be converted in the coming months to perform geotechnical and a geophysical surveys.

Horisont Energi, Equinor join in on Polaris CCS project

Norwegian carbon tech company Horisont Energi and energy company Equinor have entered into an agreement for Polaris, the carbon capture and storage project off the coast of Northern Norway. CCS captures emissions from power stations and other industrial sources, or directly from industrial processes. The CO2 s then liquified and transported offshore, where it is pumped into the underground storage. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) state that it will be more difficult and more costly to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal without CCS. Technology for CCS will also be critical to achieving carbon-negative solutions. The Polaris project will a total carbon storage capacity in excess of 100 million tonnes, which is equivalent to twice Norway’s annual ghg emissions.

UK companies team up for bio-mimicry inspired tidal device

UK-based engineering and technical innovation specialists Rovtech Solutions and Brimstone Enterprises have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a tidal energy system inspired by marine creatures.

The MoU sets out the terms and understanding between the two parties for collaboration on the development, testing, manufacture, marketing, sale and supply of a marine creature-inspired tidal energy capture system. A high-level proof of concept is currently under development, according to the partners. Following initial appraisal and testing, the companies said they plan to seek further funding to scale up the designs.

The partners have also unveiled their intention to apply for permissions to test their concept in real sea environment. “Using bio-mimicry and drawing inspiration from the natural world to design innovative engineering solutions, the collaboration is expected to result in the development of a tidal energy capture system aimed at fulfilling the global requirement for novel, sustainable energy recovery and power generation”, Rovtech Solutions said in a statement.

Rovtech Solutions and Brimstone Enterprises, both based in Barrow in Furness, are said to be ideally situated on the Barrow peninsula between two powerful estuaries. Solar power and tidal flow are two of the most reliable and sustainable energy sources on earth – the latter which Barrow has in abundance remains mostly unexploited, according to the partners.

UK getting world’s largest pool for underwater tech testing

Blue Abyss is bringing what is said to be the world’s biggest and deepest pool to Cornwall, UK, for testing the latest underwater technology and advancing subsea robotics. The £150 million Blue Abyss facility will be an extreme environment research, test, and training center serving the offshore energy, marine, defense, and space sectors.

The centerpiece of the facility will be the aquatic center featuring a 50 by 40 meter stepped pool with a 50-meter deep shaft, which will hold over 42,000 cubic meters of water, the equivalent of 17 Olympic size swimming pools, making it the largest and deepest indoor pool in the world.

The pool’s temperature, lighting and salinity can all be controlled to simulate different conditions, including different currents at varying depths. It is expected to help in the further development of remotely operated subsea robots and mini submersibles. Blue Abyss is in the process of applying for planning permission at the Aerohub Enterprise Zone. Construction would take approximately 18 months to complete with plans to being open in 2023.

The center is also currently in negotiation with Cornwall Council to acquire four adjacent plots on the Aerohub Business Park, next to Cornwall Airport Newquay. The 10-acre site would house the pool, astronaut training center, human performance center, hypobaric and hyperbaric chambers, microgravity suite, training center with classrooms, workshops, onsite catering and accommodation facilities.

“We’re planning a globally unique facility with a wide range of potential uses that tap into so many of the industries that Cornwall and the South West are known for,” said John Vickers, chief executive of Blue Abyss. “Blue Abyss will be a huge research asset for aerospace, offshore energy, underwater robotics, human physiology, defense, leisure and marine industries, and a fantastic education center for children and university students.”