Becoming the most sustainable shipbuilder means promoting environmental responsibility in all that we do. It means improving the processes by which we build our vessels; making them cleaner, more efficient. It means addressing the performance of our ships; reducing their noise and emissions and lowering their fuel consumption. It also means providing you with solutions to support the responsible, renewable production of our energy - safely, sustainably, reliably and with optimal efficiency.
With over 50 years of experience in the construction, manufacturing, supply and assembly of steel constructions, Smulders was the logical choice for offshore wind structures back in the pioneering days of wind energy 20 years ago. Today, Smulders is an established market leader that offers a full range of services from engineering and fabrication to the complete turnkey solutions (EPCI) of foundations and substations for offshore wind farms.
There are huge opportunities on the North Sea to generate large amounts of renewable energy. But then the Netherlands must quickly start cooperating with other North Sea countries, argues Siemens Energy director Adam Middleton. The climate crisis lacks urgency. Now that we are in an energy crisis, support for cooperation and new policies is emerging.
Solar power has a limited presence in our country. Solar panels are good for households, but provide too little pow er for industry, heavy transport and avi ation. Wind power and hydrogen from wind, therefore, are the Netherlands' most important new energy sources. And who says wind, says North Sea. If the Netherlands wants to meet its sus tainable targets, the North Sea must be Europe's largest climate-friendly energy plant by 2050.
Nowhere the wind blows like on the North Sea and the North Sea is there fore the place where the Netherlands can harvest real green energy. But the North Sea is not ours alone and this transition is so comprehensive, large and complicated that no one can han dle it alone.
For that reason, rapid and intensive cooperation between the governments of the eight North Sea countries is re quired. This is the prerequisite for over coming the obstacles so that industry can get to work providing households and industry with perpetual energy.
The North Sea region meets all the conditions to become a leading player in the energy transition. The technolo gy is there and companies and govern ments want to invest.
We need to start working together for the long term, starting with the eight North Sea countries. Because only then can we harness the sustainable
wind energy that the North Sea can offer us, when solar panels on roofs fall short. Those eight North Sea coun tries are, clockwise, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
On the 18th of May 2022, at the North Sea Summit in Denmark, the Nether lands and our North Sea neighbours Denmark, Germany and Belgium, an nounced that they would substan tially scale up North Sea wind power production to 150 gigawatts by 2050. This result is a good example of the necessary cooperation between all eight North Sea countries. It proves that it can be done – so now let´s move on.
The North Sea played a leading role in Europe's fossil energy supply and growing post-war prosperity for dec ades, thanks to its oil and natural gas fields. Now the North Sea can help us deliver green electrons and molecules.
This can be done step-by-step, and it can be done quickly:
• By accelerating the construction of wind farms far offshore, connected by interconnectors.
• By running offshore hydrogen plants (electrolysis) on green wind energy.
• By expanding the energy networks of the North Sea countries into a single network that can handle peaks and troughs.
• By exploiting existing oil and gas platforms cleanly.
• By storing carbon dioxide in empty gas fields (CCS Carbon Capture and Storage, cf. Porthos CO2).
This way, we grow cleanly, preserving investments and having enough ener gy for a prosperous future.
The geopolitical tensions now speedup the processes and procedures. But out of necessity we also make odd choices: we are burning plenty of coal; nuclear plants are powered with Russian uranium and there lifetime is stretched; and there are calls to bring Dutch natural gas fields (´Groningen´) back to full capacity.
These are understandable necessities. What makes me positive about it is that these emergency measures have been taken in the same cooperation that is required to realise the energy transition to green electrons and mole cules. I see a leading role for the North Sea and North Sea countries in this.
My appeal is to make a virtue out of necessity, to not lose momentum and work together permanently from now on, to persevere and make the energy transition a reality - asap. The Hague and Brussels are on the ball!
Norwegian RoRo shipping company Höegh Autoliners has set out to become net zero by 2040 and has ordered a series of eight zero-carbon ready car carriers set to start delivery already in 2024. The Aurora class ships will have DNV’s ammonia and methanol ready notation, and they will be the first in the PCTC segment able to operate on zerocarbon ammonia.
With the capacity to carry up to 9,100 cars, the Aurora class was announced as the ‘world’s largest and most envi ronmentally friendly car carrier series.‘ Offshore Energy spoke with Henrik Andersson, Head of Technical Devel opment at Höegh Autoliners, about the company’s ambitious fleet renewal plan, which could reach up to 16 ves
sels, as well as the deciding factors on which fuel to choose for the ships.
“Our green fleet renewal programme is extremely ambitious and reiterates our confidence in future fuel opportu nities. With the Auroras we have given ourselves the opportunity to choose
and be at the forefront whether the future fuel is methanol, ammonia or LNG,” he said. “To us, technological potential and ability, fuel availability and price are important factors – as well as the sustainability side of the choice. Above all is, our focus is to make sure that our customers can al ways rely on Höegh Autoliners trans
‘We
porting their cargo safely and timely to their wished destination.”
As Offshore Energy reported, in April the company signed a contract with China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) to extend the Aurora class newbuilding program to eight vessels, all of which will be built by CMHI. As part of the contract, the Norwegian shipowner reached an agreement with the yard that allows Höegh Autoliners to accelerate its green fleet renewal program to up to 16 Aurora vessels.
When asked about the key factors determining the company’s readi ness to exercise options for additional newbuilds, Andersson said: “Deciding whether or not to exercise our existing options is a decision we are consider ing, but which is too early to elaborate on now.” Commenting on the current debate regarding pros and cons of us ing methanol vs ammonia, as well as the safety concerns related to ammo nia as the potential fuel of the future Andersson explained that crew safety was a top priority.
“Engines burning methanol exist al ready today, but we will have to wait a bit before engine makers have a com mercially available engine running on ammonia. Crew safety is of top prior ity for us and since ammonia is toxic, the Aurora class is designed with ad ditional ventilation capacity onboard, should ammonia be the preferred fu ture fuel.
“Guidelines for bunkering and han dling of ammonia are being developed and we will – if chosen – of course fol low all recommendations. When de veloped as a maritime fuel the ship ping industry should adopt safety standards from fertilizer, chemical and industrial cooling industries, where ammonia already is both transported and consumed.”
Andersson also shed some light on the company’s transitional strategy toward becoming net zero, as well as plans on becoming compliant with Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) on the company’s existing ships. “Already today, Höegh Autoliners op erates some of the world’s most fuel efficient PCTC vessels. We are proud of that, but we don’t stop there. Im proving our performance is a natural and integral part of our business – and something we have done for many years,” he noted.
“Every day we focus on reducing the emissions from our existing fleet. Every improvement – also small ones –counts on our path to zero. We contin uingly work to improve the efficiency of the existing fleet and thereby also comply with the coming CII targets. Also, some of our vessels will need to
install engine power limitations (EPLs) to comply with the EEXI requirements, bringing down maximum speed but not affecting the operational speed of our fleet.” Höegh Autoliners has achieved an improved fuel efficiency of the existing fleet of 37% between 2008 and 2021, and the company is currently looking to improve even more on that front in the near future.
“Improving efficiency on existing fleet is an important part in the decarbon ization of the maritime industry. Air lubrication, wind assisted propulsion together with other technologies will
play an important role on this journey,” he said. Nevertheless, Höegh Autolin ers believes biofuels will play a much bigger role in the company’s decarbon ization journey in the upcoming years.
Last year, Höegh Autoliners complet ed its first carbon neutral voyage, when Höegh Trigger ran on advanced biofuels from Europe to South Africa, setting the stage for other vessels to follow suit. “We have increased our bi ofuel activities in 2022, and we have high ambitions for the usage of biofu el in the coming years, as we see it as a transition fuel that will play a major
part in the transition to carbon neutral synthetic or e-fuels such as ammonia or methanol,” Andersson pointed out.
“Our whole fleet is capable of run ning on biofuel and we are working closely with customers and partners in reducing our carbon footprint and supporting customers in decarbonis ing their supply chain. Using advanced biofuels to run existing fleets has a strong potential to significantly re duce emissions today while new tech nologies evolve.”
'Improving efficiency is an important part in decarbonization'
The United Kingdom currently faces a period of high inflation and the government has already taken steps to address high energy bills by announcing the Energy Price Guarantee, which means that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years, starting from 1 October.
As an additional effort to unlock private investments across the UK and
cut the red tape to make it quicker to deliver the critical infrastructure, the government’s Growth Plan 2022 was presented to the Parliament.
UK oil & gas projects
Infrastructure projects from the oil and gas project that will be accelerated, aiming to get the vast majority starting construction by the end of 2023, include Murlach oil field development, Cambo Phase 1 field development, Talbot field
development, Affleck redevelopment, and Victory field development. According to the government, these projects may benefit from acceleration through planning reform, regulatory reform, improved processes or other options to speed up their development and construction, including through development consent processes.
Murlach is a BP-operated oil field development located in the Central
North Sea approximately 203 km east of the Aberdeenshire coastline, Scotland. This is a new project to redevelop the field formerly known as Skua.
BP filed its Environmental Statement for the Murlach project to the UK authorities on 14 April. The project involves the drilling of two production wells tied back to a new manifold, installation of a c. 7 km gas lift flowline from the existing Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) platform to the new Murlach manifold and tie-ins to the repurposed Heron A production
flowline, Heron to Seagull wash water flowline system and existing Seagull umbilical. The first oil is expected in 2Q 2025.
The controversial Cambo project needs no special introduction as it has been hitting the headlines since last year due to strong opposition from environmental groups. The project was previously supposed to be developed by Siccar Point Energy as the operator and Shell as a partner but Shell withdrew from it late last year and Siccar Point was earlier this year taken over by Ithaca Energy, which now plans to move ahead with the development. The final investment decision (FID) for the Cambo project is expected next year.
Talbot is a Harbour Energy-operated project in the North Sea for which the environmental statement was submitted to the authorities in late May this year with expectations to achieve the first oil in 3Q 2024.
The Talbot development project is a discovered light-oil and associated gas resource opportunity. The primary nature of this project will be for a multi-well subsea tie-back of the Talbot field to the Judy platform and the subsequent export of produced hydrocarbons to Teesside, UK.
Harbour’s Judy platform was also selected as the preferred tie-back option for the NEO Energy-operated Affleck redevelopment, which will entail a subsea tie-back. As reported in early August 2022, the ES for this redevelopment project was also
already lodged with the UK authorities. The first oil is expected in 2Q 2024 at the earliest.
Finally, the ES for Corallian Energy’s Victory gas field located in the West of Shetland was submitted in early July 2022. The field will be developed via a single subsea well tied back via a new 16.2km, 14-inch pipeline to one of the hot tap tees installed in TotalEnergies’ existing Greater Laggan Area (GLA) network infrastructure.
Control of the well will be from TotalEnergies’ Edradour manifold, located approximately 18 km to the west-southwest, via a new umbilical. The first gas is targeted for 4Q 2024.
CCS, hydrogen, and offshore wind
In the CCS realm, the government plans to speed up Hynet Cluster –CCUS cluster in the North West; and the East Coast Cluster – CCUS cluster in Teesside and Humber.
Hydrogen projects included in the plan are Hynet Hydrogen Pipeline, INOVYN Hydrogen Storage (Hynet Cluster, NW), East Coast Cluster Hydrogen Pipeline, Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage (East Coast Cluster, Humber), and Hydrogen Electrolyser Capacity Deployment.
Finally, offshore wind-related projects included in the plan are Remaining Round 3 Projects, Round 4 Projects, Extension Projects, Scotwind Projects, INTOG Projects, Floating Wind Commercialisation Projects, and Celtic Sea Projects.
Nermina Kulovic
Sustainable Marine’s tidal energy technology is set to play a central role in the Ocean Energy Smart Grid Integration Project, as final testing gets underway in Nova Scotia, Canada. The BMT-led project was launched in December 2020 by Canada’s Ocean Supercluster as part of its Accelerated Ocean Solutions Program (AOSP).
Challenged with integrating multi ple renewable and distributed power sources, including ocean energy solu tions, additional project partners in clude Rainhouse Manufacturing Can ada, University of Victoria, and Turtle Island Innovations (TII). Together the consortium is aiming to design, build, and test a smart grid controller which
integrates multiple energy sources and regulates energy distribution for islands and remote communities.
The work intends to increase the use of renewable energy while reduc ing the dependence on diesel power generation, according to project part ners. Working in close collaboration,
the team has been able to advance through technology readiness levels (TRLs) at a steady pace to reach the biggest project milestone yet.
Namely, the project has entered fullscale testing at the Sustainable Ma rine’s substation in Nova Scotia, with
teams on the ground connecting solar, tidal, and other energy sources to the BMT Smart Grid Controller to regulate and distribute power to a microgrid. The primary renewable energy source will be provided by Sustainable Ma rine’s PLAT-I tidal energy device, the company informed.
Jason Hayman, Sustainable Marine’s CEO, said: “We are delighted to be ex panding our tidal energy remit in Nova
Scotia by supporting the smart grid energy project. Our joint mission is to trial and prove up technologies which ultimately help decarbonize and drive greater energy independence for is land and remote coastal communities.
“We believe the results will provide further evidence demonstrating the real value of tidal energy as a clean and predictable renewable energy source, which offers a complementary power profile to more established re newables such as wind and solar, ulti mately bringing greater stability to the future green energy mix.”
Martin Moody, BMT’s principal elec trical specialist leading the testing, added: “So far we’ve successfully tested prototypes, controlling and distributing river turbines, batteries, PV and generators to meet various load requirements. The fact that we’ve reached a full-scale testing opportu nity is a success in and of itself and is a testament to the hard work and efforts of all the teams involved. But everyone is really excited to put this thing to the ultimate test.”
The BMT Smart Grid Controller is de signed to efficiently manage and inte grate an unlimited number of energy sources in a fully off-grid remote mi crogrid, the project partners said.
The integration of additional renew able energy sources is easily handled by modifying the control parameters versus expensive hardware changes. The BMT-designed solution is said to be unique, as it utilizes commercial off-the-shelf components, along with a series of control parameters which effectively manage the energy optimi zation of the microgrid.
The control parameters operate as a grid controller that efficiently bal ances the output from each energy source to support the required loads and users of the grid. “Over the next two weeks, power sources will be in troduced one at a time until all sourc es are contributing. All eyes will be on the smart grid controller as it gets hit with its most rigorous testing to date,” the project partner said.
If successful, the project will be one step closer to commercializing the in tegration of ocean energy and renew able energy solutions to displace the dependence of diesel power in island or remote communities – a feat that would celebrate Canadian innovation and open the door for future Canadian R&D projects supporting blue technol ogy and energy transition initiatives.
According to a statement by ONEDyas, this makes it the largest invest ment in natural gas development in the Netherlands in the past 15 years. As previously reported, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) awarded the final permits for the de velopment of the N05-A gas field in the North Sea on 3 June.
The N05-A project is part of the socalled GEMS area, an area approxi mately 20 to 100 kilometres north of the Ems estuary.
The N05-A platform will run entirely on wind energy from the nearby Riff gat wind farm, which reduces the car bon footprint of the project.
The Environmental Impact Assess ment Committee concluded on 18 Feb ruary 2022 that the environmental im pacts have been sufficiently outlined, and that the utility and necessity of the N05-A project have been satisfied.
Chris de Ruyter van Steveninck, CEO of ONE-Dyas, said: “This is an impor tant step for the energy supply of the
Netherlands and Germany, providing safe and responsible domestic natural gas. With this investment decision, we have demonstrated that we are seri ous about the energy transition.”
He also added: “We have agreed to produce natural gas from the GEMS area only as long as there is domestic demand for natural gas in the Nether lands and Germany.” To remind, follow ing the beginning of the war in Ukraine, ONE-Dyas and the German govern ment have been discussing potential natural gas production in the North Sea
between the Netherlands and Lower Saxony in an effort to reduce the reli ance on Russian fossil fuels.
For this project, ONE-Dyas is explor ing opportunities for nature-inclusive construction, further system integra tion between wind and gas and op portunities that can contribute to re search and nature development in the area. ONE-Dyas emphasised that, in awarding the final permits, the Dutch Government expressed its confidence in the need and necessity of this North
Sea natural gas. Germany also stated support for this project. The compa ny noted that the support of both countries has contributed to the pro ject now entering a phase of concrete preparations and investments, which ensures that this domestic natural gas will be available to Dutch and Ger man households ahead of the winter of 2024. The expected volume to be produced from the N05-A field and surrounding prospects is 4.5 to 13 bil lion Nm3
Nermina KulovicMcDermott completed the load out of the Tyra East G (TEG) gas processing module in the yard in Batam, Indonesia in August. The module sailed away from the yard at the beginning of September
but in an incomplete state with addi tional work to be completed offshore. Transported directly to the Tyra field by heavy lift vessel GPO Emerald, the TEG module arrived there on 3 October. The
module is 47 meters tall, measures a to tal floor area of 16,300 square meters, and weighs 17,000 metric tons – equiv alent to the weight of more than two Eiffel Towers.
Heerema Marine Contractors’ giant heavy-lift vessel Sleipnir has completed an offshore lift of the Tyra II process module for TotalEnergies’ Tyra redevelopment project in the Danish North Sea. The lift of the 17,000 tons heavy process module was performed early October, breaking a world record as the heaviest crane lift ever undertaken at sea, according to TotalEnergies’ update.
After the module arrived at the Tyra field, the offshore crew went immedi ately into action mode and started to remove the sea fastening below the 47-meters-tall module. Thanks to great weather conditions, the crane drivers got the green light to lift the module into its final position hours after its ar rival and four days ahead of schedule.
With Sleipnir’s two enormous crane hooks, the team picked up the module from the transport vessel. Afterwards, they sailed one nautical mile to the final bare jacket while they raised the mod ule by nine meters to then lower it onto the six legs. Following the successful lift, all eight platforms are now in their final position, and Tyra II is several steps closer to producing gas for decades.
In the coming weeks, the final Tyra II pieces – two bridges and a flare – will be installed, completing the project’s fi nal offshore lifting and installation cam paign. When all connections are welded, the Installation Team will hand over the baton to the Hook-up and Commission ing team who will focus on completing and powering up the installed platforms
and reconnecting them to the existing North Sea infrastructure.
Lars Bo Christiansen, Project Director Deputy for TotalEnergies EP Denmark, commented: “Finally, Tyra II is in place. The team has been preparing this world record lift for years, and it was truly im pressive to see how the planning culmi nated in just six hours when the world’s largest crane vessel Sleipnir helped us to put the enormous new process mod ule into final position.
“I’m very pleased that we executed this crucial lift ahead of schedule in our new project plan. Only three more lifts to complete and then our new Tyra II will be in its final shape.”
At peak, the process module will be able to process 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day which is com ing from both Tyra and five unmanned satellite fields, namely Tyra Southeast, Harald, Valdemar, Svend and Roar.
As previously reported, there has been some delay with the project due to global supply chain challenges. As a re sult, the first gas date has recently been revised to winter 2023 / 2024. Once the modernized Tyra II is back on stream, it is expected to deliver 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year which amounts to 80 per cent of the forecasted Danish gas production.
Nermina Kulovic
Look no further!
With Headway’s BWTU, Reikon supplies one of the lowest power consumers available. Add that to Headways ‘single treatment’ solution and you can save thousands of euros on fuel costs on an annual basis compared to other BWT solutions. And did we mention that in ten years time, we haven’t replaced a single core treatment element?
DEKC Maritime offers concept design, basic design and detail engineering for new build vessels as well as support during the lifetime of a vessel such as support with modifications, mobilizations and project specific engineering. Our specialists in naval architecture, structural design, mechanical engineering and detail engineering are able to help with every idea or challange.
The heightened focus on energy security and the rising cost of energy is reinforcing the difference in decarbonization speed between Europe and the rest of the world, according to the sixth edition of DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook.
Europe, which can be regarded as the leader of the energy transition, will double down on renewables and energy efficiency to increase its energy independence, with the European gas consumption predicted
to fall dramatically as a result of the war in Ukraine, DNV said in its latest energy transition outlook.
Compared to last year’s forecast, DNV
sees the continent consuming almost half the amount of natural gas in 2050. Gas will meet just 10% of Europe’s energy demand in 2050 compared with 25% today, according to the report. In contrast, lower-income
countries, where cost is the main driver of energy policy, are predicted to see a different trend. High energy and food prices are reversing the coalto-gas switch and putting a dampener on decarbonization investments, DNV finds.
More broadly, inflationary pressures and supply chain disruption pose a short-term challenge to renewable growth, according to DNV. However, the impact of the current crisis on the overall energy transition is outweighed
for 83% of electricity production by 2050, DNV predicts.
“The turbulence in the energy market does not dramatically alter the decarbonization pathway towards mid-century,” said Remi Eriksen, president and CEO of DNV. “The strongest engine of the global energy transition is the rapidly reducing costs of solar and wind energy, which will outweigh the present short-term shocks to the energy system.”
double and its share will grow from 19% to 36% of the global energy mix over the next 30 years. Solar PV and wind are already the cheapest form of electricity in most locations and by 2050 they will grow 20-fold and 10fold respectively and will dominate electricity production with 38% and 31% shares, respectively, DNV predicts.
Renewables expenditure is expected to double over the next 10 years to more than $1300 billion per year, and grid expenditure is likely to exceed
by the plunging costs of renewables and increased carbon costs in the longer term, DNV said. Growing and greening of electricity production remains the driving force of the transition, with renewables accounting
For the first time, DNV’s forecast sees non-fossil energy nudge slightly above 50% of the global energy mix by 2050, mainly because of the growing and greening of electricity production. Electricity production will more than
$1000 billion per year in 2030. Oil has been approaching a plateau for some years and it will start to decline sharply from 2030 onwards, according to DNV. As a consequence of the war in Ukraine, global gas consumption will
also be lower than previously forecast. Before the war, DNV forecast natural gas would be the single largest energy source by the end of this decade, but this has been delayed to 2048.
In addition, DNV has found that the short-term increase of coal consumption will not prevent it from rapidly exiting the energy mix with its peak back in 2014. Alongside the ‘best estimate’ forecast for the energy transition the outlook this year also includes the Pathway to Net Zero, which is DNV’s most feasible route to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
According to the pathway, reaching net zero globally in 2050 will require certain regions and sectors to go to net zero much faster. OECD regions must be net zero by 2043 and net negative thereafter; with carbon capture and removal enabling negative emissions. China needs to reduce emissions to zero by 2050 rather than the current goal of 2060, according to DNV.
Some sectors like electricity production will need to reach net zero before 2050, while other sectors like cement and aviation will still have remaining emissions. Crucially, DNV’s net zero pathway states that the maritime sector needs to reduce
emissions by 95% by 2050. Also, no new oil and gas will be needed after 2024 in high income countries and after 2028 in middle- and lowincome countries, according to DNV’s Pathway to Net Zero. Investments in renewables and grid need to scale much faster; renewables investment needs to triple and grid investment must grow by more than 50% over the next 10 years, DNV states.
In addition, DNV’s Pathway to Net Zero points out the need for much greater policy intervention than we see today as the planet still remains on course to warm by 2.2°C by 2100, noting that global CO2 emissions reduction of 8% every year is necessary to reach net zero by 2050. The full policy toolbox must be unpacked, including: higher carbon taxes and subsidies, stronger mandates, bans and financial incentives to encourage renewables to replace fossil fuels, and smarter regulation and standards.
“With COP-27, it is important that policymakers recognize the huge opportunities inherent in decarbonizing the energy mix in light of the mounting costs of climate change impact. The technology exists to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but for this to happen we must utilize the scope of the policy toolkit,” Eriksen concluded.
UK government has launched a new offshore oil and gas licensing round, making 898 blocks and part-blocks available in an effort to boost the country’s energy security amid the current energy crisis. This is the country’s first licensing round since 2019. After that round, a review into future offshore oil and gas licensing regime was also launched, as part of the wider aim of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and the annual licensing activity was paused. The review was supposed to ensure the government has the information needed to plan for future oil and gas production in the UK, in a way that is aligned with tackling climate change.
Now, following the lift of shale ban and the show of support for the new round by the new government, the country’s regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), is inviting applications for licences to explore and potentially develop 898 blocks
and part-blocks in the North Sea, which may lead to over 100 licences being awarded.
To encourage production as quickly as possible, the NSTA has identified
four priority cluster areas in the Southern North Sea, which have known hydrocarbons, are close to infrastructure and have the potential to be developed quickly – and will seek to license these ahead of others. Applicants will be encouraged to bid
for these areas so they can go into production as soon as possible.
The average time between discovery and first production is close to five years and falling, according to NSTA analysis. The round is the latest element in the NSTA’s ongoing work with the industry to ensure the security of supply. Earlier this year, leading operators were asked to supply details of their production and investment plans and to look at how they might go further and faster wherever possible.
Other measures include licensing the Rough gas storage facility and encouraging operators to look again at reopening closed wells. The UK regulator emphasised that the drive to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 continues alongside the drive for energy security and they support each other as new developments tend to be significantly lower emitting. Production emissions have been cut by more than a fifth between 2018 and 2021. The NSTA underlined that projections indicate the sector is on track to meet reduction targets of 10 per cent by 2025 and 25 per cent by 2027 – agreed in the North Sea Transition Deal in 2021.
Acreage will be offered in the West of Shetland, Northern North Sea, Central North Sea, Southern North Sea, and
East Irish Sea. To support bids, the NSTA is publishing data packs with summaries of key prospects and discoveries to stimulate exploration and encourage new opportunities. The opening of the licensing round follows the publication of the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (OESEA4). The application period will run until 14:00 hrs GMT on Thursday 12 January 2023, during which time applicants will be able to assess the opportunities and make applications from early October. It is expected that the first licences will be awarded from the second quarter of 2023. The NSTA intends to award blocks in tranches with those that have the potential to produce quickly taking precedence, subject to any requirement for further environmental appropriate assessments.
This latest licensing round is being launched against the backdrop of the current energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and amid significant pressure by environmentalists to transition to cleaner sources of energy. During this week only, a number of protests were held in the UK by environmentalists seeking an end to fossil fuel projects and investments. These activists claim that the answer to tackling the energy and climate crises lies in ramping up renewable investments.
Dr Andy Samuel, NSTA Chief Executive, said: “Security of supply and net zero should not be in conflict. The industry has committed to halving upstream emissions by 2030 and investing heavily in electrification, carbon storage and hydrogen. Signs are promising so far – our first carbon storage round closed last month with 26 applications from 19 companies across all the areas we offered.”
Business and Energy Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said: “Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine means it is now more important than ever that we make the most of sovereign energy resources, strengthening our energy security now and into the future. “Ensuring our energy independence means exploiting the full potential of our North Sea assets to boost domestic production – recognising that producing gas in the UK has a lower carbon footprint than importing from abroad.”
The UK government has also recently announced support for a number of energy projects, pledging to speed up efforts to unlock additional investments and cut the red tape to make it quicker to deliver these. As a result, five oil and gas developments as well as several carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, and offshore wind projects will be accelerated.
Nermina Kulovic
be in conflict'
New research has found the relative predictability and consistency of wave energy could play a vital role in improving reliability and stability, while also reducing costs in a renewable energy-powered grid.
The report, completed for Wave Swell Energy by Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), showed that wave energy converters added significant value to a future energy system when de ployed alongside wind and solar PV resources, which are more variable and intermittent than wave power.
Trail Wave Swell Energy has just completed
a successful 12-month trial of its Uni Wave200 wave energy prototype off King Island in Tasmania, where the de vice supplied electricity to the island’s microgrid and exceeded performance expectations, according to the com pany.
As part of the new research, CSIRO explored the economic benefits that wave energy converters offer by im proving the reliability of electricity sup plies in a variety of weather conditions.
The study found the predictability and consistency of wave power can deliv er commercial advantages in hybrid applications by reducing the need for energy storage and smoothing the in consistent availability associated with wind and solar PV.
Modelling of multi-day interruptions to supply, for example, found that deploying a combination of solar, off shore wind and wave power, coupled with battery storage, would require
less than half the capital expenditure of a system with just solar, offshore wind and battery storage.
Compared to a hybrid of just solar and onshore wind, the model that includes wave power would require one-third of the expenditure.
Wave Swell Energy’s CEO Paul Gea son welcomed the findings, declaring that wave power has arrived and is ready to contribute to global decar bonization efforts. Geason said: “We have increasingly sophisticated tools
that can accurately predict waves and their size in a given location.
“CSIRO’s research shows Australia’s oceans can complement wind and so lar to provide a dependable supply of energy in a variety of weather condi tions, helping to bring down the price of electricity in a network that is in creasingly dependent on intermittent renewable sources.”
Geason added that just as Australia became a world leader in solar inno vation, it is also now on the cusp of a wave power boom, with Wave Swell
Energy’s technology standing ready to unlock the potential of the world’s oceans.
The researchers assessed three repre sentative locations across Victoria and South Australia that were selected for their wave characteristics, proximi ty to transmission infrastructure and separation from marine parks.
The study builds on previous research that Australia’s southern coastline provides wave conditions that can contribute a significant proportion of the country’s renewable energy sup
plies. The research shows that wave power can help to meet the growing demand for technologies that can de liver guaranteed volumes of electricity as coal and gas power stations are re tired, according to the findings.
Throughout the year-long trial at King Island, Wave Swell Energy’s Uni wave200 converter supplied electrici ty to the island’s microgrid to comple ment wind, solar and energy storage. Geason described the island function
ing like a working laboratory, demon strating the potential of a variety of re newable energy technologies working together to provide energy for homes, businesses and industry, regardless of whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.
“Our pilot demonstration on King Is land has proven that wave power can supply energy in a variety of weath er conditions, boosting reliability and stability while also reducing the cost of guaranteeing energy supplies.
“We know that wind and solar can produce vast amounts of low cost en ergy, but developing complementary technologies including wave power and storage will be key to unlocking the greatest benefits.
“The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, but waves are predictable and will help to fill those gaps,” Geason concluded.
By Amir Garanovic
In 2030, Europe’s shipping industry will need over 6.3 million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power its growing fleet of gas-powered ships – enough to power 7 million homes – which will only increase Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels, a new Transport and Environment (T&E) study shows.
T&E, a European umbrella for non-governmental organisations working in the field of transport and the environment, has labelled the switch to LNG as irresponsible in times of energy crisis. “As families across Europe struggle to pay their energy bills, the shipping industry is looking for new ways to burn gas. By 2030, nearly a quarter of Europe’s
shipping could be running on LNG at a time when we should be reduc ing our reliance on fossil fuels. This cannot be allowed to happen“, said Constance Dijkstra, LNG campaigner at T&E.
As the shipping industry and many European politicians are pushing for
LNG as a ‘clean’ alternative to tradi tional fuels, the new study from T&E warns that Europe’s policymakers should also be worried about the impact the switch to LNG-powered shipping will have on energy secu rity. T&E’s analysis shows that over 200,000 households could be sup plied with the gas required to power today’s fleet of LNG-powered ships.
With LNG set to power a quarter of EU shipping’s energy needs in 2030, the number of households could rise to 7 million – enough to heat all the homes in Belgium or Sweden.
Preventing the uptake of gas in ship ping must happen now, says T&E, before all segments of the maritime industry fall into the gas trap.
“Today, tankers carrying LNG repre sent the biggest share of LNG-pow ered vessels, but other types of ships are being tempted by the gas option. In 2018, only seven LNG container ships were built. That number has
more than doubled in 2022 with 171 LNG container ships on order around the world today.”
Furthermore, the study underlines that the EU is at a crucial point and can raise the climate ambition of the EU’s FuelEU Maritime proposal – the EU’s main alternative fuels law for shipping. Stricter greenhouse gas in tensity reduction targets from 2035 onwards would shorten the compli ance lifetime of fossil LNG-powered ships, as proposed by the European Parliament on 19 October. Europe’s lawmakers have also voted in favour
of a 2% mandate for green hydro gen-based fuels – the first of its kind.
T&E calls on the EU bodies to put these proposals into law to start the belated decarbonisation of Europe’s shipping industry. Constance Dijk stra concluded: “With gas supplies so tight and prices so high, there’s sim ply no justification for shipping com panies to switch to gas. It isn’t even good for the climate. The EU should ditch plans to promote fossil gas in shipping and promote green hydro gen-based fuels instead.“
Norwegian shipping company Amon Maritime has launched a new offshore market player – Amon Offshore – and a carbon-free, ammonia-powered platform supply vessel (PSV) design, which already received approval in principle from DNV and preliminary flag approval from the Norwegian Maritime Authority.
While making this announcement, Amon Maritime outlined that Amon Offshore has been created to build, own and operate a fleet of ammo nia-powered supply ships for the Nor wegian Continental Shelf (NCS). These carbon-free workhorses for the ship ping industry have been “developed to meet oil companies’ current and future offshore logistics needs, setting a new standard for North Sea PSVs – while drastically reducing emissions.”
According to the Norwegian shipping firm, ammonia fuel will be made avail able thanks to a floating bunkering terminal at the selected supply base
from an affiliated company, Azane Fuel Solutions, with fuel provided by a project partner, Yara Clean Ammo nia. The ammonia-powered PSVs from Amon Offshore and the bunkering ter minals from Azane Fuel Solutions will enable “a full-scale shift to carbon-free offshore logistics – creating the foun dation for decarbonising global ship ping.”
André Risholm, Founder & CEO of Amon Maritime, commented: “This is the next generation. We are combin ing new technologies with future re quirements, enabling capabilities only available for newbuildings. Our vessels
will be carbon-free, future-proof, and holistically designed for ammonia fuel from the ground up.”
Norwegian government
These vessels will be managed by Amon Maritime’s in-house, fully in tegrated new ship management set up in Norway, Ula Ship Management, which is a joint venture with Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, “the third largest ship manager in the world.”
As the Norwegian government has stated in the Hurdal Platform that all PSVs on the NCS will release zero emissions by 2030, this requires ap
proximately 80 newbuilds or signifi cantly modified/rebuilt to be delivered between 2025-2030, which will be “a massive boost for innovation and val ue creation” in the maritime industry.
Taking this into consideration, Amon Maritime highlighted that the new Amon PSV has been developed for full compliance with 2030 requirements, “offering carbon-free operations with best-in-class energy efficiency,” and Amon Offshore is working closely with clients to obtain charter contracts, “enabling the first ships to be deliv ered in 2025.”
Furthermore, the Amon PSV project started in 2020 and this has been de veloped with the customer in focus thanks to a collaboration with oil com
panies on the NCS to ensure that cargo capacities and operational capabilities are ”just as future-proof” as the power technology and emissions reductions. Kongsberg Maritime was chosen to design and deliver “key technologies” for this project.
Jørn Heltne, Vice President for Ship Design sales in Kongsberg Maritime, remarked: “These vessels will rep resent the next generation PSV and Amon Maritime will set a new stand ard in the logistics in the segment with these newbuildings. We are proud of working with them to lead the green shift in shipping, designing what we believe will be a game changer for the market.”
Moreover, the Amon PSV received ap proval in principle for gas-fuelled (am
developed for ammonia as fuel. Inno vations like this, coupled with close collaboration between all stakehold ers in the value chain are key to accel erating maritime decarbonisation. We congratulate Amon Offshore for this timely and important contribution to supporting the energy transition.”
Melisa Cavcic
We are living in turbulent times. The certainties of the past will no longer afford security in the future. Change is the only constant and with that in mind we can see that the offshore energy industry is transforming. Fast. This change is addressed in the content program of Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference. The theme of this year’s content program is ‘The Future of Offshore Energy’ and the focus is on innovations and developments that will shape the next decades of the industry.
Offshore Energy Exhibition & Confer ence is an event that focuses on the entire offshore energy industry. The event gives an home to markets like offshore wind, fossil energy, marine energy and the maritime industry. It is a landscape where different activities become more and more intertwined. One of the main drivers behind this development is the energy transition.
Sharing knowledge and collaboration are main elements this transition. Key note speakers from the conference program call out for action. “There are huge opportunities on the North Sea to generate large amounts of renew able energy. But then the Netherlands
must quickly start cooperating with other North Sea countries”, says Adam Middleton of Siemens Energy. “The cli mate crisis lacks urgency. Now that we are in an energy crisis, support for co operation and new policies is emerg ing.” Manon van Beek of TenneT: “We must do everything in Europe to be come independent from fossil imports as soon as possible. We must acceler ate the transition to a sustainable and climate-neutral energy supply.”
Both are sharing their views, togeth er with Han Fennema of Gasunie and Harry Brekelmans of Shell, in the session ‘The Executive Outlook’ on Wednesday 30 November.
The need for sustainability sparks in novation in companies and even cre ates new markets. The invention of floating offshore wind turbines makes renewable energy accessible to other parts of the world. Developments in this technology takes place in regions like the United Kingdom, The Nether lands and Norway. Floating wind cre ates new challenges and opportuni ties for the supply chain. These topics are discussed during the conference. The search for a carbon-free energy carrier gives green hydrogen a boost. If green hydrogen is going to be the main pillar in replacing fossil fuels, it will create a new market with its own infrastructure and supply chain. The
steps towards this hydrogen econo my are highlighted the conference.
New innovations and developments in the energy transition are discussed in the sessions ‘Focus on Floating Wind’ and ‘The Roadmap of Hydrogen’ on Tuesday 29 November.
Offshore Energy Exhibition & Con ference takes an in-depth look at the established markets of offshore wind and marine energy. Renewa ble energy ambitions dominate the political agendas of many countries and the offshore wind industry has to respond.During ‘Opportunities in Offshore Wind’ panellist from the in dustry tell how these ambitions can generate business opportunities for the supply chain. And how can a re newable energy give communities energy security in times of uncertain ty? In the session 'Scaling-Up Marine Energy' the EU’s strategy on marine
renewable energy is going to be dis cussed together with the latest ma rine energy deployments.
Markets insights are shared during the sessions 'Scaling-Up Marine Energy' on 29 November and ‘Opportunities in Offshore Wind’ on 30 November.
During the session ‘Future Proof’ in dustry experts from the offshore en ergy sector will share their visions on the market and the future. Topics like cyber security, a sustainable imple mentation of hydrogen and investing in nature while building offshore are on the table.
‘Future Proof’ session is on 30 November
This year the panel discussions are moderated by the industry experts Paul de Leeuw, Director of the RGU Energy Transition Institute and Canan
Acar, Assistant Professor of the Uni versity of Twente.
Next to the conference program is The Stage. At the open stage on the exhibition floor, different aspects of the offshore energy sector are placed into the spotlight.
Visit The Stage for market insights, interviews and views from the next generation. And extended due to great success, the OEEC reporter is present to share interviews from the exhibition floor. The stage program is moderated by Rogier Elshout.
The content program of Offshore En ergy Exhibition & Conference 2022 gives an overview on what is going on, but also singles out important drivers of change. It shows which way the industry is going, what the future of offshore energy will be.
For the complete content program of Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference 2022 please visit: www.offshore-energy.biz/offshore-energy-2022/program.
Do not miss out on the opportunity to meet the entire industry! O shore Energy Exhibition & Conference is where the energy transition takes place. It is Europe’s leading event for the entire o shore energy industry and your opportunity to reach business leaders, highly qualified experts and professionals across global markets.
Several EU Member States have increased their offshore wind ambitions – with some also making joint vows to install massive amounts of new capacity by 2030 and beyond – and invitations to tender released in October show Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands are actively working to prepare the stage for the buildout of new offshore wind farms.
Germany, which recently launched a tender related to geophysical (seis mic) investigations for three areas in the North Sea totalling 3.5 GW of potential capacity, is now looking for contractors who will perform geo physical and hydrographic surveys for offshore wind farms within zones 2 and 3 of the German Exclusive Eco nomic Zone (EEZ). The three areas from the previous tender are also lo cated in zone 3.
The two zones comprise several are as that have been designated for off
shore wind development, as well as areas that are currently under review under the country’s site development plan. This year, Germany established an expansion target of at least 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, at least 40 GW by 2035, and at least 70 GW by 2045.
In May, the country was announced as one of the four EU Member States that agreed on a joint offshore wind target of having at least 65 GW of generation capacity installed by 2030 and at least 150 GW by 2050 as
part of a drive to speed up the phaseout of fossil fuels and to minimise re liance on energy imports from Rus sia. Germany’s co-signatory of the Esbjerg Declaration, the Netherlands, has also recently upped its offshore wind goal for 2050 to 70 GW, based on the assumption that 50 GW could be installed by 2040.
The Dutch Government is current ly working towards having 21 GW of offshore wind up and running by the end of this decade, which is about
75 per cent of the current electricity consumption in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has now issued a tender for the devel opment of an integrated ground mod el for the Nederwiek Zuid Wind Farm Zone to allow for a preliminary foun dation design. Nederwiek Zuid is one of the eight new zones the Dutch Gov ernment identified for the buildout of additional offshore wind capacity ear lier this year. The area is scheduled to be auctioned off in the second quarter of 2025, at the same time as IJmuiden Ver Noord V and VI zones.
Both Germany and the Netherlands are members of the North Seas Ener gy Cooperation (NSEC), whose nine member countries recently agreed to reach at least 260 GW of offshore
wind capacity by 2050, which rep resent more than 85 per cent of the EU-wide ambition of reaching 300 GW by 2050.
At a ministerial meeting in Dublin this September, under the Irish co-pres idency of NSEC, the energy minis ters of the nine countries have, for the first time, agreed on aggregate, non-binding offshore renewable en ergy targets for the maritime area of the entire NSEC region.
Ireland also increased its offshore wind target this year, raising it from 5 GW to 7 GW by 2030, after reach ing an agreement on Sectoral Emis sions Ceilings that set maximum lim its on greenhouse gas emissions for
each sector of the Irish economy to the end of the decade. The country, which currently has only one offshore wind farm in operation, is also mov ing forward on its new Offshore Re newable Energy Development Plan (OREDP II), which will update the original OREDP published in 2014 and will support Ireland’s increased offshore renewables ambition be yond 2030 of up to 30 GW.
Irish Ministry for the Environment, Cli mate and Communications (MECC) has now launched a tender looking for a service provider (or consortia) who can bring the requisite expert citizen engagement, creative com munications, and project manage ment expertise to deliver a high-im pact hybrid in-person and online public consultation on Ireland’s longterm Offshore Renewable Energy De velopment Plan II.
It is anticipated the consultation will launch at the end of 2022, or in Jan uary 2023, with consultation events held in January/February. OREDP II is expected to inform the identification and designation of candidate areas for future offshore renewable energy development under the new Irish off shore wind consenting regime estab lished by the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Bill.
The MAP Bill, passed in December 2021, facilitated the establishment of Ireland’s new Maritime Area Consent (MAC) regime, under which the first wave of offshore wind farms has al ready been invited to apply for de velopment permits. The new marine planning and permitting system is said to simplify and accelerate off shore wind deployment in Ireland as it replaces the previous system which was more complex and lengthy.
Adrijana Buljan
As a result of the current surge in sustainability developments in the maritime sector, a major shift is taking place in winch technology. After having dominated the playing field for decades, hydraulic winches are losing ground to electric-powered systems.Electric drives used to be far less compact than their hydraulic counterparts. Since free space is a scarce commodity on virtually all ships, that disadvantage was a dealbreaker.
The electric winches that are emerg ing on the market nowadays, howev er, have slimmed down significantly. They sometimes weigh even less than hydraulic drives, while still matching their power and torque. Dromec, a Dutch company specializing in winch technology, realized the potential of electric-powered winches years ago. They have been actively developing the technology, adjusting and mod ifying electric drives to accommo date their customer’s requirements. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, however.
As is generally the case with innova tive technology, there are still some teething problems to overcome.
Luckily, they love a good challenge at Dromec. So, when the owner of a fish ing vessel approached them in 2015 to see if Dromec could transform the hydraulic winch drive on his trawler to an electric drive, the project sparked their interest.
Cees Drost, Dromec’s sales represent ative and co-owner, discussed the project with Geerart de Vree, the en gineer in charge of Dromec’s technical department. “Only when Geerart says that something is impossible, will I be lieve that it really can't be done,” Mr Drost states confidently.
They decided to take on the challenge. The first step was to measure the spe cific surroundings of the hydraulic systems on board. Dromec collected the data regarding cable speeds, ves sel speed, maximum working load, as well as tension levels on the winches. These data served as a basis for the configuration of the winch drive and gearboxes.
After three years of preparing, man ufacturing, and installing, the vessel took to sea. Most elements in the con verted winch system functioned prop erly right away; others needed some adaptations. When all other issues
had been resolved, one crucial kink re mained: the gearboxes kept breaking down. No matter what Dromec’s en gineers tried, they couldn’t keep them going.
But what was going wrong? Were the calculations off? Did they over look something? To answer those questions, Dromec needed to find a way to monitor the gearboxes during operation. To do so, they joined forc es with the automation experts at Bachmann to set up a vibration mon itoring system. Three sensors were placed on each 200kW gearbox, an other two were set up on each elec tric winch motor. Bachmann supplied the sensors, cables, and software. They also monitored and analyzed the collected data.
The two companies set up meetings at regular intervals to assess the data re ports. The vibration sensors provided Dromec with an incredible amount of information. “They basically allow us to observe the gearbox as if through a microscope,” says Mr de Vree. “They provide such meticulous insights. We can distinguish engine speeds, fre quencies, bearing elements, and even gearbox components. They all have their own, specific vibration signals.”
Over time, the sensors detected sev eral defects. At one point, they picked up a distortion on the output switch ing frequency of the frequency invert er. “Probably a wiring issue on the mo tor, we figured. One check on the EMC later, the problem was fixed,” explains Mr de Vree.
Another time, the sensors registered an unusually high vibration at the back of the engine. When Dromec investi gated it, a small bearing in the forced ventilation turned out to be the cul prit. It had been affected by corrosion. “The wear on the bearing had altered its vibration profile. What’s so remark able about the sensors picking up this signal, is that the bearing wasn’t even broken,” clarifies Mr Drost. “It was still turning, just with a little more friction.”
“To us, that really was an eye-opener,” adds Mr de Vree. “It showed us the great potential this technology has for early damage detection.”
However, in the case of the gearbox es, the monitoring system didn’t work. Small hairline cracks seem to have damaged the material without chang ing the vibration profile. Then, without prior warning, one of the gearboxes broke down.
“We expected gearbox failure to occur when both load and torque levels were high. But when the gearbox actually broke down, the load was low, while the speed was high. Apparently, this combination also caused heavy vibra tions,” explains Mr de Vree.
“Being able to test whether your as sumptions are correct, is so valuable,” says Mr Drost. “But it is a long-term process. You need to monitor during a longer period of time to determine the regular patterns. Only then will you recognize anomalies in the data,” he concludes.
While the gearbox monitoring system was up and running, the next issue
presented itself. The vessel’s satel lite connection wasn’t always strong enough for the vibration sensors’ data transmission. The next time a gearbox broke down, the data wasn’t stored properly, making it impossible for Dromec to figure out what cause the breakage. “Precisely the data that we wanted to analyze most of all, was missing. We really wanted to see that breakdown coming,” says Mr Drost.
“It is an iterating process, which makes it so important that there is a contin uous connection to the system,” adds Mr de Vree.
The missing data was a major setback for Dromec, leaving them unable to find a fitting explanation for the re curring gearbox failure. Later on, the company found out that structural me chanical errors had been made by the (external) gearbox manufacturer. “This finding was somewhat of a relief, since it meant that we hadn’t selected an ill-suited gearbox,” explains Mr Drost. “The gearboxes should have been per fectly adequate for the job, but simply had some manufactural deficiencies.”
At the time of writing, the company is conducting an investigation to figure out the cause of these flaws.
Another important factor in the recur ring gearbox problems seems to be the tremendous forces that the equip ment on trawling vessels is exposed to. Trawlers will make 90 degree turns at full throttle during some parts of
the fishing process, for example, caus ing extreme vibrations.
After consulting with the client, Dromec configured some limitations in the control management software. When the ship speed is too high dur ing the last leg of its track, the control screen sends out a warning signal by blinking. “The speed loss is absolute ly minimal. On a full, 90-minute fish ing track, the limitations cause a de lay of merely 30 seconds, adding up to a maximum of five minutes a day,” states Mr Drost. “But slowing down at the end of the track makes it easier to pick up the buoys. This could even compensate the time loss. Moreover,
a lot of damage is prevented on the machines.”
Dromec will continue monitoring the vibrations on board.
Even though the conversion project wasn’t a success in all respects, it proved to be of great value to Dromec. “This project offered great insights in the future potential of sensor-based monitoring,” says Mr de Vree.
“Our service attitude is increasingly pro-active. Monitoring systems can be a great asset for our customers in preventive maintenance, helping them replace worn elements before they break down,” adds Mr Drost.
Mr de Vree is particularly enthusi astic about the potential for criti cal, non-stop processes that involve great speed variation. Water injection dredgers, for example. “It could pre vent unexpected downtime on ships, or be used to optimize revision plan ning,” he concludes.
Contact Bachmann electronic GmbH I www.bachmann.info
The Industry Contribution is a section in which companies share their business endeavors or market analyses. Please contact us at jp@navingo.com for inquiries.
Standing on the shoulders of giants, start-up Equinox is developing turbines that are laid out to generate electricity from steady flowing ocean current. Supported by Damen Shipyards, working from the Damen headquarters in Gorinchem, innovators Pieter de Haas, Joris van Dijk, and Andries van Unen prepare to have commercially operated ocean current turbines installed within five years.
Synthesizing years of preparation, Equinox had their first public pres entations in October, with their web site going live and at their booth at the Damen Maritime Festival. Render ings of large underwater turbines are shown. Design in progress is on dis play. Impressively large two-bladed turbines that position themselves in the ocean’s currents. Turbine blades are to be constructed from concrete, the tough building material that is calculated to be able to withstand the typical kind of loads, vibrations and pulsations, that occur on long and slim appendixes like turbine wings under water.
Equinox founders and early investors share a vision on the unexplored pos sibilities of ocean current. They be lieve it has potential to be the world’s third source of renewable energy after wind turbines and solar pan els.The waterflows in oceans always move in the same direction, mostly at the same speed. Sailors know the currents for trade routes. The speed may vary from two up to five knots of water speed.
This implies that a big turbine should be used with a slow moving, but hightorque generator. Yet, the steady flow offers a lot of benefits compared to
tidal current. Instead of increasing from zero to up to eight knots of water speed and changing direction every six hours, ocean currents are constant and very predictable. “Tur bines typically do not like the slow water speed, but our two-staged turbine concept does,” de Haas ex plains. “All of the other components and the total systemlove low speeds. Bearings, the anchoring and electric ity transfer cables, the blades. A oneway current at always the same speed is much less demanding for the mate rials than fast water flows that change direction. Another big advantage is that the turbines can be installed by
Equinox is preparing to harvest stable renewable energy
smaller, relatively simple vessels that do not require DP2 dynamic position ing as they operate on water with a one-way current of only a few knots.”
It is the steadiness and predictability of ocean currents that convinces the innovators that this energy source may well develop into the world’s third largest source of renewable en ergy. De Haas and van Dijk show maps and researchthat show the actual cur rents flowing through the oceans. Us ing this information and insight ideal locations for installing turbines can be selected. Starting in places that have constant and relatively strong current near shore, beneficial for power to shore infrastructure, opera tions for installing are better manage able and cost effective.Equinox and partners calculate that the potential of ocean current energy production
globally is in the range of 700 giga watt. Large numbers of turbines can be installed to capture this potential. For this reason, CEO Arnout Damen and his fellow directors at various disciplines within the Damen Group support the ocean current energy en trepreneurs. “This turbine does not look like a ship,” De Haas adds, “But it can be built at a yard locally, and be installed and serviced by Damen designed vessels. This new product development is in line with the ambi tion to become the most sustainable shipbuilder in the world.”
While Equinox is currently a three-person start-up, they are look ing for large-scale industrial partners either on the installation or energy exploitation side. Damen is the first partner of Equinox and can contrib ute in numerous ways, such as de veloping and building the turbine. Nevertheless, Equinox is in search of parties for long term co-operation in order to install ocean energy tur bines at large scale. This needs to be done in a reliable way and with con nections to local power grids. Ideally,
a park of ocean current turbines, in stalled near the shore, should connect to the land-based network to provide the local population of electric power. In the case a sea-based wind turbine park is nearby or other power supply infrastructure, it would be quite cost effective to create a co-connection with this existing grid connection, making both more cost efficient.
Engineering efforts are now aiming to increase efficiency and cost ef fectiveness of the turbine installa tions that are to harvest the ocean current’s energy potential. As the turbine blades move at low rotations per minute, a large generator with high torque would be needed to pro vide a viable amount of power. High torque alternators are expensive and often require gearing. That is the reason Equinox has come up with the idea of installing tip generators at the ends of the turbine blades, a so called two-staged turbine. With a 50 meter blade span, the tips move through water at considerable speed. Small high speed generators at these tips provide a lot of electricity. This
kind of equipment is competitive in aspects of energy production versus cost. “Our goal is really to develop turbines that are efficient to build and require minimal maintenance, in order to provide electric power at minimal cost. The ocean current energy will have to compete with other sources that provide power to any country’s electricity grid,” van Dijk explains.
The structure with two blades and central housing of the bearings and electrical connections, will float. It can be transported over the water, using relatively small towing boats. Once at the spot where the turbine can be installed, the structure can be connected to the anchoring cable that also contains the electrical con nections. When connected, ballast water will be pumped in the body behind the blades. The changed po sition of the ballast water will cause
the turbine to tilt to its vertical po sition in the water. Anchored to the seabed, the turbine will now automat ically position itself in the current. It remains vertical and finds a position
that has the blade tips in their upper position several tens of meters under the water surface. The turbine will not interfere with shipping. Fishing ships will be able to take notice. “When studying the water movement in ar eas where we plan to install turbines, we find that in water depths of 250 to 400 meters, the strongest currents are not down in the deep but near the surface, at 50 tot 150 meters of water depth,” De Haas explains.“That is where we should have the turbines operate.”
Following their first public appear ances, Equinox is now identifying and talking with investors to join in the course towards the exploration and exploitation of the world’s third clean energy source. Steps planned are the installation of a test turbine in the Netherlands, near an inlet from the North Sea into the Waddenzee. At the same time the team is working hard to develop the full commercial ver sion, grow the team and contract an energy site location in Japan, Kenia, or South Africa.
Contact I www.damen.com www.equinoxoceanturbines.com
The Industry Contribution is a section in which companies share their business endeavors or market analyses. Please contact us at jp@navingo.com for inquiries.
Pieter de Haas (left), founder Equinox and developer of the ocean current turbine, Joris van Dijk, business development manager Equinox
Good employership starts with happy employees, who are motivated, challenged and upto-date. In our present time with technological developments at top speed, innovations and transformations professional agility is paramount. Would you, as an employer like to make a structural contribution to the technical development of your employees? Consider a collective membership at the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers (KIVI: Koninklijk Instituut Van Ingenieurs). Sign up ten (or more) of your top engineers and they can immediately benefit from all advantages the largest engineering platform in the Netherlands has to offer.
Repurposing existing vessels as an answer to rising prices and a changing climate
The maritime industry has a lot to consider right now. We live in a time of challenging economic circumstances, frequently changing regulations, and all the complexities of a climate crisis. Collectively, these factors are stimulating action and driving innovation, so that the sector is becoming increasingly dynamic.
Amongst the many transformations taking place, is an interesting new trend which, according to Saltwater CEO Sander Broekmeulen, offers an answer to many of the current indus trial challenges.
Conversions have long offered op portunity for diversifying a vessel's scope of work. Typically, this has in volved the removal and addition of certain components and equipment. This modular approach to conver sion provides flexibility for the future. Once a contract is ended, the vessel can be repurposed for the next one. Recently, however, the maritime and offshore engineering specialist has witnessed an increase in orders for
the long-term conversion of existing vessels, in place of newbuild projects.
“This is certainly an interesting op tion if you consider the present eco nomic climate,” begins Sander.
“Energy prices are rising dramatical ly, and this is having a substantial ef fect on the cost of, for example, ma terials. Investing in an existing vessel takes away of lot of that price uncer tainty and risk.”
Another advantage is the lead times. With a considerable amount of both engineering and construction al
ready undertaken, a converted ves sel can be in the water very quickly. Naturally, this results in a reduction in man-hours, which also adds to the overall cost-reduction.
“It depends on the extent of the con version, but I would expect even a complex project to deliver a signifi cant saving relative to a newbuild,” states Sander.
Broad-reaching potential Saltwater has extensive experience in engineering conversions. The company has worked on projects that have seen diverse vessels repur posed for offshore wind support ves sels, adding accommodation units,
cranes, support craft or walk-towork systems.
Saltwater has recently engineered the conversion of a laid-up platform supply vessel to a cable-layer for the telecommunications sector. Such projects are increasingly being seen throughout the maritime industry; even superyachts have been created out of retired fishing vessels and re dundant offshore ships.
The benefits of this go beyond re ducing the time and costs of vessel operation. At a time when the mar itime industry is being tasked with improving its environmental perfor mance, recycling a ship offers a ro bust contribution.
Giving a ship a second life reduces waste and avoids the footprint of building a new vessel. Additionally, it
provides an ideal opportunity to in stall the latest technology to improve performance.
“We’ve carried out projects involving the retrofit of ballast water treat ment systems, for instance. And, with all kinds of test cases being explored right now, there is the potential to switch to alternative fuels such as hydrogen or methanol.
“These are considerably adjust ments, but when you are already un dertaking a large-scale conversion, the timing is perfect.”
As with all good solutions, prepa ration is key to a successful vessel conversion. And it is here, Sander explains, that Saltwater can provide support.
“It’s important to be sure that the vessel you choose can perform the function you want it to. It’s not sim ply a case of saying ‘I bought vessel A, please convert it to vessel B’.
Sander Broekmeulen CEO Saltwater Engineering B.V.
“What we can do, is sit down with the client and develop something to gether. Our role involves carrying out research on your behalf, performing feasibility studies and producing concept designs.
“Once we know what it is you are looking for, we can approach the brokers and see what suitable ves sels are on the market. In this way, we make sure that you are going to get the results you are looking for.”
Armed with information
Rob Grimmond, Managing Director, Castle Ship International agrees with Sander's assessment. The process, he says, benefitted considerably from Saltwater's experience in the field of vessel conversions.
“There's a lot to consider when un dertaking a conversion like this es pecially into a multi role capability. Platform Support Vessels are built with a generic purpose in mind. Con verting them for a specific task(s) is an intricate matter and requires proper definition of the design cri teria and excellent knowledge of the applicable Rules and Regulations and relevant experience. Therefore, having access to independent expert advice and guidance, like Saltwater, is key to selecting the right ship for the job and ensuring it meets cost and time budgets.
Contact E info@saltwater.nl I www.saltwater.nl
The Industry Contribution is a section in which companies share their business endeavors or market analyses. Please contact us at jp@navingo.com for inquiries.
'having access to independent expert advice and guidance, like Saltwater, is key!'
A vessel dedicated to the construction of offshore wind farms has unique requirements. Working at sea almost all of the time, the focus is less about transportation and more on operating in DP. When Acta Marine developed its new Construction Service Operations Vessel (CSOV), the company knew that Veth Propulsion was a strong candidate for support in optimizing the DP system, says Simon Anink, General Manager Commerce at Acta.
“We've worked with Veth Propul sion before. As well as the custom ised propulsion Veth supplied to our workboats, the company also deliv ered the thrusters to the Acta Orion. During that project we enjoyed an open minded approach and collabo ration and really appreciated how it turned out.
“The equipment is reliable and ef ficient and the vessel continues to perform well. Therefore, it was a very natural decision to also approach Veth when we decided to build a new vessel type, dedicated to the construction market.”
The CSOV has been designed by Ul stein Design & Solutions exclusively for Acta Marine. There are currently two of these 89 x 19 metre vessels under construction at the Tersan Shipyard in Turkey.
The vessel features an innovative hull type, the SX-216 TWIN-X Stern, that has the same profile fore and aft – an ideal arrangement for a vessel whose primary task is moving between wind turbines. With this symmetrical setup, the vessel can take advantage of an equally symmetrical propulsion arrangement.
Increasing manoeuvrability & uptime
Veth is supplying each vessel with four azimuthing thrusters, type VL-1550, two fore and two aft. The thrusters have a propeller diameter of 2.4 metres. With no angular lim its imposed, the 360-degree thrust ers are able to offer 100% of their 1,500kW power in all directions.
Not only does this considerably in crease manoeuvrability, but it also allows the vessel to operate in harsh er conditions than would be possible with a conventional arrangement, fulfilling one of Veth’s main goals in ensuring its clients maximal uptime.
Supporting efficient offshore wind construction with custom propulsion
This aim is reflected in the compa ny’s service offering as well as in the design of its products. It is, says Si mon, another reason that his compa ny chose to award the CSOV propul sion contract to Veth.
“Thrusters are crucial equipment for us. If something goes wrong and these vessels are idle for a day, that's really something to consider. It's going to cost us a lot of money. Veth keeps a large supply of competitively priced spare parts in stock and has people on the spot when you need them.
“Veth is flexible when it comes to services. When you have a company that has its act together like this, it's a great comfort.”
A further factor in the decision to en list Veth for the project is the compa
ny's philosophy of tailoring its prod ucts to the requirements of each client and each vessel. Veth believes that the propulsion should be de signed to suit the hull, not the other way around. Acta Marine has already experienced the benefits of this firsthand with the Acta Orion.
“The thrusters on the Acta Orion have been optimised for the DP system. As a result, the power of the propul sion is high, but the vessel continues to deliver low fuel consumption and, therefore, emissions. This gave us confidence in Veth when it came to constructing the CSOVs. With these we have the opportunity to build the vessels we need for the future and for that, we are aiming to operate with even lower emissions.”
The CSOVs have been designed to sail with a dual methanol MDL/HVO fuel combination that offers a re duced carbon footprint and paves the way for even further improve ments in efficiency in the future.
“The aim with these vessels is to con struct the means to provide clean, renewable energy. For both us and our clients, it's crucial that this is done in as sustainable a manner as
possible. In optimising the thrusters, Veth is making a significant contribu tion to this.”
Naturally, with efficient fuel con sumption, combined with the in creased uptime the thrusters pro vide, operational expenditure is also reduced.
“We are a growing company,” explains Simon. “And as such, we are looking to tomorrow. We don’t just consider the initial capital outlay; we also try to factor in the operational expenditure over the lifecycle of the vessel.
“For us, it's great that we have sup pliers that can support us in this goal. Veth understands our requirements and works with us towards achieving them. We place a lot of value on this spirit of cooperation.”
Contact E info@veth.net I www.veth.net
The Industry Contribution is a section in which companies share their business endeavors or market analyses. Please contact us at jp@navingo.com for inquiries.
Developing lubricants dedicated to maritime and offshore clean, reliable & long-lasting
With increasing awareness of sustainability, the role of a lubricant is changing. It’s no longer sufficient to reduce wear, tear, and costs. Today, a lubricant must also take care of the environment.
Having grown in importance in re cent years, environmentally accept able lubricants (EALs) are playing a crucial role, supporting industrial operators in meeting national and in ternational sustainability obligations.
As legislation becomes ever more stringent, lubricant technology is be ing driven to continually innovate.
The maritime and offshore sectors are no exception to this trend. In
these arenas, the need for increased sustainability is set alongside a list of pre-existing requirements, including safety, durability, and optimal reli ability, explains René Moolhuizen, Marketeer at Van Meeuwen.
The company supplies its lubricants to businesses in the offshore, dredg ing, wind, port, elevator, and crane sectors. Here, Van Meeuwen’s prod ucts encounter diverse challenging conditions.
“This sector has undertaken a lot of work in order to achieve the current quality of biodegradable products,” says René.
This work not only paves the way to a more sustainable future for mar itime companies, but there are also savings to be made.
“With all the work that has gone into developing lubricants suitable for
tomorrow’s needs, the overall quali ty and durability has improved. This equals a reduction in CO2 due to a longer lasting product, less equip ment downtime, and less exploitation of natural resources. It also makes for a better investment for companies whose lubricant will maintain the performance of their equipment for longer periods.”
The increased focus on EALs is par ticularly noticeable in internation al tenders and notably in offshore renewables projects. In this sector, many, notably larger, companies are demanding a comprehensively green
approach to installation – for exam ple, that vessels serving a project have a green passport.
Such tender requirements frequent ly include a requirement that surface water contamination be avoided at all costs. To ensure this, an EAL is a key factor.
These requirements are particularly important for wind support and in stallation vessels. Amongst which, jack-up installation vessels are per haps the primary candidate. The conditions under which the rack and pinions of the jacking system oper ate requires a specific type of grease.
One that guarantees performance in all conditions, optimizing reliability and minimising downtime.
A grease for this market must be not only environmentally friendly, it must also be able to withstand extremely high loads, be water resistant and provide optimal wear protection.
Working together with is suppliers –Bel-Ray, Royal Purple, LUBCON and PANOLIN, Van Meeuwen has devel oped a range of dedicated lubricants for the maritime and offshore sectors. The company has drawn on its expe rience in environmentally conscious lubricants, having produced biode gradable lubricants for its Green Line portfolio for years already.
Getting to the core
Van Meeuwen's next generation, sus tainable focused lubricant range also caters for steel cables, gears, bear ings, bushings, cylinder, and piston units and guides.
The formulation of the lubricants ensures their ability to get to the core of the subject, protecting cable strands, discs and drums alike from abrasion and corrosion.
Heavy loads & high water
“We needed to develop lubricants suited to an incredibly diverse range of conditions. This includes lifting, pulling and stationary applications. To ensure their suitability, we have formulated these products with non-toxic oils and greases that can be used under water, with salt resist ance and tolerance to high loads and
'Improve reliability, safety and durability'
dusty conditions over a wide range of temperatures.
“The idea was to develop a range of lubricants that, alongside biodegra dability, would be durable and offer excellent protection against both corrosion and wear. In short, lubri cants that would fulfil the multiple requirements of diverse applications within the maritime and offshore in dustries.”
Developing their suitability for the market, the lubricants feature rec ognized environmental certification such as the EU Ecolabel and HOCNF Geel – meaning that the lubricants can be used without restriction in coastal and offshore areas.
“The message that we want to con vey is that we are aware of the in creasing need for sustainable perfor mance. We feel it is very important to take responsibility and play a role in supporting our customers in achiev ing their goals of sustainability. At the same time, we want to make sure that they do not have to compromise on quality and expenditure.”
Contact E info@vanmeeuwen.com I www.vanmeeuwen.com
The Industry Contribution is a section in which companies share their business endeavors or market analyses. Please contact us at jp@navingo.com for inquiries.
Too much lubrication and, at best, you’ll be wasting expensive lubri cant. In the worst case, the excess lubricant will be caught on the wind or spill on deck and run into the wa ter – undesirable at any time, but un thinkable on an environmentally con scious offshore renewables project.
When it comes to jack-ups, one solu tion for precision is an automatic rack and pinion lubrication system. A system that takes into account the individual requirements of each and every lubrication point. TrustLube, a specialist in the design, production, and installation of
cation solutions for the maritime, mining, food, and heavy industries, has developed just such a system, explains the company’s CEO, Chiel van Daelen. Dedicated
The
for Jack-ups is a modular system, ful ly scalable and customisable to meet specific requirements.
It features four dedicated pump skids – only one per leg – each operating independently. Pumps and control cabinets are installed below deck in a conditioned room, while field com ponents are installed outside and/or in the jacking system itself.
Keeping you on the move
Designed to sustain operations in
the harsh offshore conditions expe rienced by a jack-up, it is fabricated from robust materials such as stain less steel 316 and completely sealed to prevent dirt, water, or sand from entering.
As you may expect from a solution designed to keep equipment moving, the system requires little downtime.
“Aside from changing a filter once a year, all you need to do is carry out a visual inspection every now and
then to make sure that the tubing is in good condition,” says Chiel.
A visual inspection is also all that is required to check that sufficient lu brication is in place, thanks to Trust Lube’s cream-coloured Xtreme Rack & Pinion grease. The grease is spe cially developed to stick to steel, even under water, ensuring equip ment is continually protected.
The system features a series of sprocket wheels, located on top of the jacking case. Thanks to the ge ometry of the teeth and the strategic placing of the grease outlets, lubri cant is always evenly distributed to the teeth, providing outstanding pro tection against heavy loads and wear and tear.
A further key element in achieving precision lubrication is TrustLube’s in-house developed encoder. This measures the exact movements of the jacking system and enables ap plication of the right amount of lubri cation, at the right place, at the right time independent of jacking speed.
Further steps towards precision come courtesy of TrustLube’s greasejet nozzles. With these, the system can access even the most dif ficult to reach places.
Plus, jet nozzles avoid many of the pitfalls of a conventional spraybased system.
'TrustLube is constantly innovating. That’s precisely how we intend to keep your world in motion'TrustLube uses her own fully equipped workshop container to work fully independent and reduce installation time
“If the nozzle on a conventional system becomes blocked, they ei ther cannot spray or they spray in the wrong direction. Then, you end up with lubricant in the water or on deck. This kind of imprecision can lead to negative environmental im pact and financial penalties.”
With lubricant precisely measured and accurately applied, the Trust Lube system offers a significant re duction in waste. The company has compared the amount of lubrication with a conventional system.
“The results were quite surprising,” Chiel explains. “We were confident that there would a reduction in waste but were not prepared for how much. The automatic system lowers use of lubricant by well over 70% compared to a conventional system.”
A further advantage of the automatic nature of the system is that is does not require people to place them selves in harm’s way to carry out their work. A typical jacking operation re quires at least three people per leg to perform manual lubrication.
“This involves working close to a se ries of moving parts, with obvious safety implications. Plus, there is al ways the possibility that grease can end up on the floor, which can then become slippery. With an automatic system, these dangers are removed from the equation altogether.”
The TrustLube system is the product of evolutionary development. It has developed over successive genera tions.
“The system started out with just the sprocket wheel. After a while, based on experience in the field, we added the jet nozzles.”
The evolution does not end there, however. TrustLube recently devel oped the ECO Applicator. This du al-purpose innovation simultaneous ly greases and cleans teeth tips and sides, further enhancing the lubrica tion system’s performance.
“As with all our products, we will con tinue to develop this,” concludes Chi el. “TrustLube is constantly innovat ing. That’s precisely how we intend to keep your world in motion.”
Contact E info@trustlube.com I www.trustlube.com
The Industry Contribution is a section in which companies share their business endeavors or market analyses. Please contact us at jp@navingo.com for inquiries.
A fuel and CO2 saving of 14% - which ship charterer doesn't want that? Peterson Energy Logistics and Gulf Bunkering, both established in Den Helder, entered into a lucrative partnership. The results exceed all expectations.
Peterson, logistics service provider for the international offshore energy sector, has taken an important step in making the company more sustainable. In the continuous pursuit of an even smaller footprint and an even greater reduction of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, Peterson Den Helder B.V., as facilitator of the Southern North Sea (SNS)POOL, has partnered with Gulf Bunkering, bunker supplier of various high-quality fuels and lubricants for all seagoing and inland vessels in the Netherlands.
The collaboration consists of making the SNSPOOL's ships more sustaina ble by using ChangeXL. This fuel im prover is based on the action of natu ral enzymes derived from tree leaves. The addition ensures faster and more optimal combustion, which results in a reduction of fuel consumption and the emission of harmful exhaust gases, soot and particulate matter. In addi tion, the enzymes clean the entire fuel system, from (storage) tank to engine, and prevent problems with micro-or ganisms in fuels.
Gulf Bunkering started using ChangeXL in 2018, after which the fuel improver quickly became one of its best-selling products. General Manag er Jeroen van Essen informed Peter son about the benefits of ChangeXL, after which independent consultancy and engineering firm Tauw conducted a test on a vessel from the SNSPOOL. This resulted in a fuel saving of no less than 14%. And because fuel savings are linked to CO2 savings, you can also speak of a CO2 reduction of 14%. Gulf Bunkering speaks of a fuel saving of
6.5%. The reason for these two differ ent percentages is the operational use of the ships.
Peterson calculated in practice how much fuel the ships saved by using ChangeXL. Gulf calculated with the standard of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is based on weighting factors per part load of the ship's engine power. Peterson sails with its fleet in the sub-loads where a stronger result is achieved. As a result, reductions are achieved that exceed the IMO test results.
‘This is a fantastic result for us,’ says Van Essen. Peterson is also surprised. ‘This is a significant saving,' says Rein ier Dick, Business Manager SNS Pool. ‘And with the current high fuel prices you save even more. That is an easy calculation for our customers, who, thanks to ChangeXL, have to spend
less money on offsetting to reduce CO2. Shipowners also have to incur less maintenance costs.’
‘We are very happy with this cooper ation and the trust Peterson has giv en us,' says Van Essen. ‘A customer with this volume can achieve an enor mous CO2 reduction in one fell swoop. Moreover, it fits the philosophy of Gulf Bunkering and parent company Fin Co Fuel: that you should not wait any longer, but can start today with sus tainability.’
‘Peterson aims to be climate neutral as soon as possible,' says Dick. ‘The coop eration with Gulf Bunkering helps us to achieve this. Using ChangeXL feels like the most logical and simple next step. It is currently the best possible way for our customers to save both fuel and CO2
For more information:
Contact
Dutch shipbuilder Holland Shipyards Group has signed a contract with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) for the delivery of two plus two autonomous all-electric ferries. As informed, the first ferry is scheduled to be delivered in the second half of 2024 and the other ferries will arrive in constant intervals after the first.
The signed contract includes the delivery of two ferries with four automooring facilities and two charging stations, a simulator facility and a remote control center. The tender covers the entire procurement — four ferries, eight automoor ing facilities, four charging stations and more, according to Holland Shipyards. The ferries, measuring 86.00 metres by 14.24 metres with a 60-car carrying capacity, will sail according to autonomy level 2 and will be controlled from the remote control center based in Stockholm. As defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), degree 2 of vessel autonomy means that a ves sel is remotely monitored, but does have crew on board that can take control whenever necessary. Crossing the ferry route can be done with just the push of a button. While mooring, the vessels are charged by a shore charging facility within approximately four
DEME has taken the decision to invest in a new DP fallpipe vessel by purchas ing and converting a bulk carrier, as part of its commitment to rejuvenate its fleet for the offshore energy industry.
DEME has signed an agreement with Singapore’s Pax Ocean Shipyards and the vessel will enter the yard in late October to undergo extensive conversion works. The fallpipe vessel will be equipped with a central fallpipe system plus a large, inclined fallpipe in order to allow pre- and post-lay activities using rocks with larger diameters close to subsea structures.
It is set to join the DEME fleet in the first half of 2024. According to the com pany, the new vessel will be fully compliant with the latest emission standards and feature the latest environmental technology, including a battery pack for fuel efficiency and more sustainable operations.
Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of integrated energy company Chevron, has delivered its first shipment of offset-paired lique fied natural gas (LNG) cargo from the Gorgon project off West ern Australia. Chevron said that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the cargo will be fully offset via the retirement of high-qual ity nature-based and energy efficiency offsets in Cambodia, Indonesia and Nepal.
According to John Kuehn, pres ident of Chevron Supply and Trading, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., the company’s first full lifecycle emissions offset cargo advances its net-zero ambitions and represents a significant mile stone in its relationship with CPC Corporation, Taiwan.
“We share the view that the future of energy is lower carbon and expect this offset-paired cargo to be the first of many as we lever age our capabilities, assets, and customer relationships to deliver energy solutions to a growing world”, Kuehn says.
BOW Terminal is based in The Netherlands and has two terminals, in Vlissingen and Eemshaven. BOW Terminal provides a wide range of facilities and services depending on the wishes and requirements within the dynamic context of a project. We work together with leading industry partners to provide marshalling services such as heavy lift capacity by crawler and hydraulic cranes and SPMT’s. BOW Terminal offers clients creative and cost-effective transport solutions and
Based on project value analyses and tight project management we offer an elaborate and diverse package of lifting services, general services as port agency and rental equipment and marine services. Meet us at Offshore Energy Amsterdam | Booth 1.704
For more than 50 years Flying Focus is specialized in maritime aerial pho tography. Since the company's start up in 1984 thousands of ships, sea trials, maiden voyages, special cargo transports and oil platforms have been photographed.
Flying Focus recently published a photobook visualizing this impressive industry.
Great exposure was generated by their photographic work of ships in heavy weather on the North Sea. The for this purpose especially acquired aircraft,
the twin-engine Cessna Skymaster, can fly with winds up to 10 Beaufort. All the 3 company owned photo air crafts are especially equipped with the required safety gear as well as the latest communication and navigation equipment. The flights are executed from Texel International Airport, where hangar and office are situated. On a regular basis Flying Focus is operating for projects further away ranging from the Arctic Circle to the Atlantic Ocean.
“The Dutch Offshore- beyond the hori zon” contains 150 photos, 156 pages, 30x30 cm, hardcover.
The book can be ordered through the website www.flyingfocus.nl
MISC Berhad (MISC), an owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, has strengthened its partner ship with ExxonMobil’s unit SeaRiver Maritime with new
long-term time charter contracts. MISC’s subsidiaries Pola ris LNG Three Pte. Ltd. and Polaris LNG Four Pte. Ltd. have secured long-term time charter contracts with SeaRiver Maritime for two more LNG carriers, bringing the total number of contracts to four vessels. MISC said it has also signed an agreement with ‘a reputable shipbuilder’ through its subsidiaries for the construction of the LNG carriers in South Korea. The 174,000 cbm carriers will be chartered by SeaRiver Maritime for a firm period of ten years.
The vessels will be equipped with eco-efficient technolo gies such as X-DF 2.1 engines with Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling (iCER) System and Air Lubrication Sys tem which will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The two LNG carriers will be deliv ered in 2026.
V&SH Offshore Solutions have opened an office in Houston, Texas, to further to support the develop ment of the USA Offshore Wind business. Next to that VSH Offshore Solutions plans a second Offshore Wind - High Voltage Experience & Training Center on the US East Coast, close to their operational customers.
The center will provide further training and development for their USA-based Offshore Termination and Testing Engineers.
“We train our experts & engineers in our own Training Facilities and mobi lize our engineers to projects around the world. With the bulk of our expe rience in the North Sea and in Europe, we have connected & tested the High Voltage Array/Export cables in over 20 Offshore Wind parks and worked in repair and service operations in many other parks”, says Jonne Schortinghuis, Managing Director of V&SH Offshore Solutions.
The International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) is the premier offshore wind energy conference in North America. Hosted by the Business Network for Offshore Wind, IPF connects global leaders and businesses in the supply chain and offers unparalleled networking opportunities. Offshore wind is rapidly growing on a global scale – attend IPF to secure your place in the industry.
Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has hired Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC) to carry out a study into the techno-economic benefits of shared services and infrastructure for wind and wave energy technologies and projects.
AqualisBraemar‘s offshore wind consultancy unit OWC will through a fourmonth study assess the various levels of sharing of supply chains, physical infrastructure and services between wave energy and floating offshore wind systems. Sharing scenarios of interest range from co-development, through co-location to sharing a floating substructure, according to WES.
The contract award comes as Scotland embarks on the creation of a huge supply chain and services network to satisfy the massive offshore wind capac ity leased through the ScotWind program. These steps bring potential for increased collaboration between the Scottish wind and wave energy sectors, bringing cost reductions, technical and socio-economic benefits and well as the opportunity to enhance national energy security through a more-varied generation portfolio.
UAE’s energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced a new world record for the longest oil and gas well has been set at its Upper Zakum Concession. Stretching 50,000 feet, the well is around 800 feet longer than the previous world record set in 2017, ADNOC revealed on Thursday. The well supports ADNOC’s efforts to expand the production capacity of its lower-carbon oil and gas resources to help meet the world’s growing demand for energy.
This feat of engineering is part of an extended reach well project designed and led by ADNOC Offshore, in collaboration with its Upper Zakum strategic international partners, ExxonMobil and INPEX/JODCO. The extended-reach wells will tap into an undeveloped part of the giant Upper Zakum reservoir with the potential to increase the field’s production capacity by 15,000 barrels of oil per day, without the need to expand or build any new infrastructure, ADNOC explained.
Subsea services provider Subsea 7 has contracted electrical inte grator specialist Bakker Sliedrecht to equip its heavy construction / flex-lay vessel Seven Arctic with a new energy-saving system. The order for an energy storage sys tem from Bakker Sliedrecht is a double first, according to the company. It is the first order for such a system on this scale for the Sliedrecht-based independent system integrator. Also, Subsea 7’s Seven Arctic is believed to be the first heavy construction / flex-lay vessel in the world to be equipped with such an energy-saving sys tem. The new energy-saving and storage system will hybridise the vessel which currently has a total installed power of 27 MW and DP3 classification and is suitable for worldwide operations in water depths up to 3,000 metres.
At the heart of the new energy storage system is a containerised battery room with a maximum power of 3750 kW and 1250 kWh of energy. The system also includes a connection for shore power. Based on the vessel’s operating profile, it is estimated that 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be reduced.
Bas Oskam, director of Sales at Bakker Sliedrecht, added: “The energy storage system can work with any battery or storage type. The control system is designed with maximum autonomy in mind, allowing for integration with dif ferent existing power and vessel management systems on board. This makes the system very suit able to apply in existing vessels.“
The consortium comprising RWE and Neptune Energy has awarded contracts to Siemens Gamesa and Dutch engi neering companies H2SEA and Enersea to support concept engineering work as part of the feasibility study for the H2opZee green hydrogen project in the Netherlands.
H2opZee, announced earlier this year and planned to be built before 2030 in the Dutch North Sea, is a demonstra tion project which aims to build 300-500 MW electrolyser capacity to produce green hydrogen using offshore wind and to transport it to land through an existing pipeline.
The joint feasibility study, which began this June, is planned to run until the beginning of Summer in 2023 and forms part of the first phase of H2opZee in which various techni cal concepts and potential development locations are being evaluated to assess the optimal solution to generate green hydrogen offshore and transport it to shore via a pipeline. In the second phase, the project will be implemented. For that phase, a tender methodology has yet to be defined, the project consortium said. Under their contracts, H2SEA will perform offshore platform concept design and engi neering, Enersea will take on the pipeline concept design, and Siemens Gamesa will carry out concept work for wind turbine systems.
The remainder of the technical work will be supported by in-house engineering at RWE and Neptune Energy, which are also working closely with offshore infrastructure owners to evaluate various export options via the existing pipeline network to shore. “Following the very successful roll-out of wind farms producing green electricity in the Dutch North Sea, offshore green hydrogen is the next step in the energy transition and crucial for our domestic future energy sup ply”, said Neptune Energy’s Managing Director in the Netherlands, Lex de Groot. “It can be produced right here in the North Sea, giving the Netherlands a leading role in pro
viding green energy to North Western Europe, reducing the need for imports”. According to De Groot, re-using exist ing gas infrastructure can be a faster, cheaper, and cleaner solution for the energy transition as the infrastructure is both technically suitable and already in place, including landing and possible cross-border interconnections, such as Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the UK.
Lex de Groot also added that lessons learned from the PosHYdon pilot project, which was launched last year, will be applied to H2opZee. “Large-scale production of green hydrogen based on offshore wind is a key solution to decarbonising the industry”, said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Offshore Wind at RWE Renewables. “A demonstration pro ject such as H2opZee helps us to better understand how this could be put into practice. Thanks to our cooperation with partners such as Neptune Energy, Siemens Gamesa, H2SEA and Enersea, we are getting closer to achieving the Dutch climate goals”.
Hellenic Cables has awarded Vos Prodect with a contract to deliver its sealed cable hang-off systems for the Vesterhav Nord and Syd offshore wind farms in the Danish North Sea. Vos Prodect said it will perform an extensive test program at the testing facility using the 66kV cross-linked polyeth ylene (XLPE) insulated inter-array cables. According to the company, the tests are conducted in order to verify and confirm that the temporary clamp locks the cables in a reli able and safe manner, without damaging them.
Hellenic Cables is in charge of manufacturing and deliver ing the projects’ inter-array cables under a contract won in September 2021, while Asso.subsea will install the cables at
the two wind farms. Vos Prodect and Hellenic Cables most recently worked together on the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm. Commissioning is expected by the end of 2023.
The outstanding Volvo Penta D8 combines high performance with low emissions, fuel consumption and noise levels. The D8 offers a very high power-to-weight ratio, designed for planing craft that require fast acceleration and high speeds. The D8 comes in two strong versions. Inboard, with four power outputs – 450, 510, 550 and 600 hp – and Volvo Penta IPS, featuring new robust controls, developed to work as a totally and seamlessly integrated system, from prop to helm.
www.volvopenta.com
Dutch shipbuilding company Holland Shipyards Group has signed a new contract to build two additional eco-friendly ferries for German ferry operator Schlepp- und Fährge sellschaft Kiel (SFK).
The contract includes a hybrid cycle- and footferry with a capacity of 300 persons and a smaller all-electric cycle- and footferry with a capacity of 140 people. The designs of the vessels are in line with the deliveries made earlier this year, according to the company.
The hybrid ferry, to be named Laboe, will measure 32,40 by 8,80 meters and will be provided with a hybrid drivetrain that can be powered by either generator or by means of a battery bank. The battery capacity differs from the pre viously delivered hybrid ferries, so Laboe will be equipped with 2x 272 kWh, to enable the vessel to sail larger distances on batteries only.
On the other hand, the all electric ferry, to be named Die trichsdorf, will measure 24,95 by 7,50 meters and will be equipped with an installed battery capacity of 1092 kWh. Like its sister vessels (Düsternbrook and Wellingdorf), the ship will also be equipped with the non-conventional auto mated mooring system which features electric-hydraulically operated mooring hooks on both sides of the ship.
Spanish energy company Cepsa and the Dutch Port of Rotterdam have signed a memorandum of under
standing (MoU) to establish the first green hydrogen corridor between southern and northern Europe, ensuring a green hydrogen supply chain between two of Europe’s main ports, Rotter dam and Algeciras. The trade lane is expected to be operational by 2027.
As informed, Cepsa plans to export hydrogen produced at its San Roque Energy Park near the Bay of Alge ciras, through hydrogen carriers such as ammonia or methanol, to the Port of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is the most important energy port in Europe, handling 13% of European energy demand, while the Port of Algeciras is first in Spain, fourth in Europe, and an important trade route between Europe and Asia.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an offshore wind lease sale in California on 6 December. This will be the first-ever offshore wind lease sale on the U.S. Pacific coast and the first-ever through which the country will support commercial-scale floating wind farms.
On 6 December, BOEM will offer five areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off central and northern California that total approximately 373,268 acres. Three lease areas are located off central California and two are off northern Califor nia, all expected to accommodate floating wind technology.
The areas have the potential to house over 4.5 GW of off shore wind installed capacity. This could power more than 1.5 million homes, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).
“Today’s announcement represents years of close coordi nation and engagement with the state of California, Tribes, ocean users, local communities and all interested parties to move us closer towards achieving the administration’s vision to fight climate change and realizing California’s clean energy future, while creating a domestic supply chain and good-pay ing union jobs”, BOEM Director Amanda Lefton said.
of Climate and Energy and Public Utilities Dan Jørgensen signed the declaration of intent on 13 Septem ber.
Denmark, Flanders and Belgium have signed an agreement to cooperate on the transport of CO2 between the two countries with a view to per manent geological storage. Besides the framework on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) coop eration, the parties have concluded an arrangement on how cross-border CO2 transportation can take place
under the London Protocol, which is said to have long been an unan swered question in the development of the international value chain.
Flemish Minister of Justice and Enforcement, Environment, Energy and Tourism Zuhal Demir, Belgium’s Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne and Danish Minister
The deal is said to represent the firstever such bilateral agreement. “This is big. By taking the first steps, Den mark and Belgium are paving the way for a model for cross-border trans port of CO2 with a view to permanent geological storage,” said Minister Jørgensen. The Intergovernmen tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasizes that storing CO2 is a key instrument for mitigating climate change as it can rid the atmos phere of greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise be difficult to reduce. According to IPCC, interna tional transport is essential, as not all countries have the opportunity to store CO2 and regional cooperation and cross-border infrastructure are crucial here.
Geophysical and environmental surveys will commence next week at two 100 MW floating offshore wind demonstration projects that will be built off the coast of south west Wales in the Celtic Sea. The surveys at the planned Llŷr and Llŷr 2 offshore wind projects and their northern export cable route corri dors will take place until December.
The project sites are situated off the Pembrokeshire coast, in the approaches to the Bristol Channel, approximately 40 kilometers off shore at depths averaging 60-70 meters. According to project developer Floventis Energy, a joint venture of SBM Offshore and Cierco, the sites enjoy high average windspeeds which are, typically, in excess of 10 meters per second.
Floventis Energy was chosen to build the two floating wind projects in July 2021 in the Crown Estate’s
leasing opportunity for early com mercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea. To ensure a coor dinated approach to assessing potential environmental impacts, Llŷr and the Whitecross test and demonstration scale project will form part of the Plan-Level Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA).
The Llŷr and Llŷr 2 projects will have a capacity of 100 MW, respec
tively, and will each comprise 6 to 8 next-generation turbines.
The combined output is expected to provide power for approxi mately 250,000 homes annually. Subject to consent applications for development, construction of the floating platforms and infrastruc ture is planned to begin in 2024, with installation commencing in 2025/26.
ing in the second half of 2023 at the Kårstø Gas Processing Plant in Rogaland, Norway, operated by Gassco. The test will be conducted to verify Hystar’s patented PEM technol ogy under realistic field conditions, using a containerized PEM electrolyser, in partnership with industry leaders, such as Equinor and Yara.
Yara Clean Ammonia, a global unit of Norwegian fertilizer company Yara International ASA, has joined the HyPilot project to test the PEM electrolyser technology developed by compatriot manufacturer Hystar for the future produc tion of green ammonia using hydrogen.
The HyPilot project will see the first in-field test of Hystar’s 1 MW containerized electrolyser which is due for commission
The electrolyser will be run for a total of 10,000 hours, pro viding performance data from various operating regimes to verify long-term commercial operation. Yara’s interest in the HyPilot project is primarily centred around using hydrogen to produce green ammonia. The results from the project will demonstrate how Hystar’s electrolysers can be utilized to reduce the cost of green hydrogen for the production of green ammonia on an industrial scale.
MJR Power and Automation, a UK com pany which will soon install charging points for electric crew transfer vessels (CTVs) on the Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms, has been awarded a second round of government funding for development of its technology to connect and charge Service Operation Vessels (SOVs), Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs), and other similar vessels.
MJR secured the first round of funding under the Clean Maritime Demonstra tion Competition, funded by the UK Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, back in September 2021. This enabled the com
pany to fast track the development and factory testing of an electrical offshore charging vessel system suitable for CTVs, which is now in its final stages of testing with deployment expected imminently.
Now, with the funding from the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2), which was launched in May 2022, MJR will accelerate the development and prototyping of its sys tem to allow SOVs, PSVs, and other vessel types to connect to a offshore wind tur bines in the field. As part of the next phase of development, the company will lead a consortium of partners to deliver the project over the next eight months.
“At present, the shift to fully electric and meaningful hybrid electric power – for many vessels – is hampered by a lack of available infrastructure for recharging offshore, with shore power and shore side charging facilities being very limited or non-existent”, the company said in a press release on 6 October..
“As such, MJR Power and Automation’s innovation is already set to break down existing range barriers for CTVs – and now additional vessels with the next round of grant funding – to increase the uptake of fully electric and green propul sion systems, for retrofit and new build vessels by vessel owners and operators”.
Windcat Workboats, part of Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), together with its joint venture partners Thomas Services Maritimes (TSM) and FSR, has ordered six hydro gen-powered crew transfer vessels (CTVs) to be built by 2024. The new order follows the launch of the world’s first hydrogen-powered CTV, called Hydrocat 48, and its delivery and trials with its first customer Vestas earlier this year.
The six additional hydrogen-powered CTVs include four ves sels of the MK3.5H2 series, two of which will be delivered in 2022 and two in 2023. The next vessel which will be deliv ered in this series is planned for the German offshore market and will be operated by joint-venture partner FSR Wind cat. The other two vessels will be of the new MK5 series, a 27-metre long CTVs with double the hydrogen capacity of the MK3.5H2 series, according to Windcat Workboats.
With the hydrogen supply chain still in its infancy, CMB.TECH and Windcat have developed solutions for delivering the fuel to vessels. This includes a 40ft 500bar trailer capable of transporting hydrogen for remote refuelling of all the differ ent applications currently in use.
Ruud Aantjes | ra@navingo.com
Mariska Jongbloed | mjl@navingo.com
Cas Teensma | ct@navingo.com
Jaap Proost | jp@navingo.com
Coco Kossmann | ck@navingo.com
Adrijana Buljan | abu@navingo.com
Ajsa Habibic ajha@navingo.com
Amir Garanovic | aga@navingo.com
Jasmina Ovcina Mandra | jo@navingo.com
Melisa Cavcic | mca@navingo.com
Nermina Kulović | nk@navingo.com
| mv@navingo.com
AYOP (Amsterdam IJmuiden Offshore Ports) page 29
BOW Terminal page 64
Damen Shipyards Group cover 2
De Waal page 9
Dekc Maritime page 19
Flying Focus page 59
GustoMSC | NOV page 62
Hetraco page 68
IPF International Offshore Wind page 66
KITO Corporation page 66
KIVI page 47
Koedood Marine Group page 2
Kooiman Marine Group cover 3
Lemans Nederland page 23
Medir page 23
Neptune Marine cover 4
Netherland Maritime Technology page 43
Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference page 37
Offshore Source page 68
ON&T page 72
Reikon page 19
Rotterdam Maritime Capital page 59
Royal Roos page 74
Royal Van der Wees page 9
© 2021 Navingo BV. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be repro duced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright owner. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this publica tion, neither the publisher nor the editor are responsible for the views and opinions expressed in this publication or for any inaccuracies in the articles. About: Offshore Energy Magzine is a publication by Navingo BV, a maritime multi media company based in the Netherlands.
RPPC / Port of Rotterdam page 55
Save Lifting page 70
Smulders Group page 4
Surinam Air Cargo page 72
Van der Kloet Foto & Videoproducties page 74
Volvo Penta page 70
Jan van Galenstraat 56 3115 JG Schiedam The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)10 2092 600 Email: info@navingo.com www.navingo.com
Email: info@offshore-energy.biz www.offshore-energy.biz
We design, build , repair , convert and mobilise vessels for the maritime industry including offshore, renewables, marine infrastructure and sustainable industry. It is our aim to offer you the best solution through creativity , cooperation and flexibility. In other words, we work together.
Find us at stand : 1.225 Neptune “Marine solutions that work for you”
