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Working Offshore News

14 Mar 2024

Ørsted Powers Up All Turbines at First US Commercial-Scale Offshore Wind Farm

(Credit: Ørsted)

Ørsted has installed and powered up all 12 turbines at the landmark South Fork project, and the first utility-scale U.S. offshore wind farm has started delivering power to Long Island and the Rockaways, offshore New York.The commissioning of the wind farm is in its final stage, and when at full capacity of 130 MW, it will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 70,000 homes.The renewable energy is generated roughly 35 miles off the coast of Montauk, and will eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the life of the project…

17 Dec 2023

Esgian: Rigs on the Move in Asia and Europe

Source: OMV

This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

23 Feb 2023

Help Wanted: Build a New Industry

(Photo: Atlantic Wind Transfers)

When Atlantic offshore wind (OSW) projects move into high gear they will kick-start a series of impacts affecting almost the entire East Coast economy, from logistics to transportation to utility projects and, of course, just about every aspect of port and maritime activities.The related topics of workforce development and employment are among the fundamental issues being pushed and pulled by OSW. How workforce development and education and training proceed – and succeed – will be critical for the U.S.

08 Feb 2023

Frontiers Extend as Developers Eye Floating Wind Potential

CREST Wind, a joint venture between Crowley and ESVAGT, has selected Fincantieri Marine Group to build a service operation vessel for operations in the U.S. offshore wind sector. (Image: CREST Wind)

America may have only entered the offshore wind sector recently, but it is wasting no time in playing catch-up. The White House has set targets of 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. The focus so far has centred on bottom-fixed installations, but the prospect of higher energy yields in deeper waters where the wind blows stronger and longer now beckon. The White House has also set a floating wind deployment target of 15 GW by 2035.From a standing start, there are immense challenges in America’s offshore wind development.

11 Jan 2023

Jones Act Uncertainties Persist in US Offshore Wind

© pauws99 / Adobe Stock

The Jones Act is a single sentence long, and yet somehow that reservation of U.S. domestic maritime commerce to qualified U.S.-flag vessels has spawned numerous complications with respect to offshore wind energy projects. Although not supported by prior experience, maybe 2023 will bring some clarity.U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary source of guidance for how the Jones Act applies. CBP issued its first two offshore wind rulings in May 2010 and February 2011 in the heady early days of U.S. offshore wind.

06 Dec 2022

North Star Secures Funding for Offshore Wind Fleet Construction

©North Star

UK-based offshore vessel operator North Star has secured a £140 million (currently around $171 million) financing package.The company, building a fleet of service operation vessels for offshore wind operations, said Tuesday it would use the funds to support the next phase of its ambitious offshore wind growth plan.The investment includes a £50 million commitment from the Scottish National Investment Bank (The Bank), as well as IFM Investors, Edmond de Rothschild’s BRIDGE, and RBC Capital Markets."The Bank’s investment aligns with its mission to support Scotland’s transition to net zero…

23 Aug 2022

North Star's Offshore Wind Vessel Named After Victorian Heroine Grace Darling

North Star’s new UK-built hybrid-powered daughter craft, specifically designed for the offshore wind market, has been launched at a naming ceremony held at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht club in Lowestoft, adjacent to the firm’s regional operations hub. The vessel was christened ‘Grace Darling’ in honor of a famous lighthouse keeper’s daughter from the North East of England who risked her life in 1838 to save the stranded survivors of a wrecked merchant ship traveling from Hull to Dundee.

31 May 2022

Callan Marine Powers Ahead

(Photo: Callan Marine)

Galveston-based Callan Marine possesses one of the youngest, most powerful dredge fleets in America. “Our oldest dredge is 11 years old, so we have a nice modern, new fleet, which really helps us in our performance,” said the company’s president, Maxie McGuire. “I’m very proud that we have one of the newest fleets in the industry.”McGuire and Callan Marine have plenty to be proud of. McGuire, a U.S. Air Force veteran with an Operation Desert Storm tour under his belt, took a job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after discharge before eventually finding his way into the private sector.

20 Apr 2022

Silver Ships Delivers RHIB to NOAA Research Fish Biologist Team

(Photo: Silver Ships)

Mobile, Ala. boatbuilder Silver Ships announced it recently delivered a customized Ambar Series vessel to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).The vessel is a custom-built Ambar 6 meter (AM600), designed to be operated from NOAA oceangoing ships. At just under 28 feet in length, with a hull length of 20’ 5’’, this vessel is powered by two Mercury SeaPro 115hp, with an 80-gallon fuel tank, along with an 8’ 10’’ beam, 22’’ draft, a trailer, and a boat cradle for deck storage to make this custom vessel meet the needs for NOAA.Ambar series vessels…

20 Jul 2021

Industry's First: North Star to Order Hybrid Daughter Craft for Offshore Wind Support

Credit: North Star Renewables

UK-focused offshore wind vessel operator North Star Renewables said Tuesday it would order the world’s first hybrid daughter craft vessels to support the offshore wind market.The company, established earlier this year as an offshore wind-focused business of the ERRV-firm North Star, has $375 million worth of contracts in hand to deliver three service operation vessels (SOVs) to be used on what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the UK North Sea.

22 Sep 2020

Video: Cemre Launches SOV Wind of Hope

Wind of Hope (Photo: Cemre Shipyard)

A new service operations vessel (SOV) was launched at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for French vessel owners Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA).Upon delivery in 2021, the 84-meter SOV Wind of Hope will go to work for Danish wind energy giant Ørsted servicing its Hornsea Two offshore wind farm, with accommodations for up to 64 technicians who will service and maintain the wind turbines and an additional vessel crew. The ship is expected to arrive at Ørsted’s east coast operations and maintenance facility at the U.K.

25 Aug 2019

ROVOP Joins ORCA Hub

ROVOP, the global subsea robotics specialist, is the latest company to join the ORCA (Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets) Hub offshore robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems development program. The ORCA Hub is a consortium of five universities – Heriot-Watt University, University of Edinburgh, University of Liverpool, University of Oxford and Imperial College London – that are working together to develop highly specialized robotics and AI technologies for the inspection, repair, maintenance and certification of offshore energy platforms and assets.The partnership will see ROVOP support the research the ORCA Hub is carrying out in the subsea domain.

08 Apr 2019

OSV Market: Which Way is Up?

OSV "THUNDER" owned by Jackson Offshore serving floater "DEEPWATER CONQUERER"
Source: Jackson Offshore

Any analysis of markets for offshore service vessels (OSV) usually begins with analogies to rough weather, best of times/worst of times or similar. OSV expert Seabrokers, with a home base in Stavanger, Norway, in the February edition of its Seabreeze market report follows this convention with a description of the “feast or famine” conditions in the North Sea. Recent day rate action highlights the localized nature of markets for anchor handlers (AHT), platform supply vessels (PSVs) and similar equipment…

29 Aug 2018

Noble Chooses Kongsberg for Drillship Monitoring Package

Noble Corporation has contracted Kongsberg Maritime to deliver an advanced new real-time monitoring and advisory solution for the Noble Tom Madden drillship.The contract reflects a growing requirement for deep technology integration on drilling platforms and ships, where sharing vital data on board and ashore results in a state-of-the-art real-time monitoring and advisory solution that will provide significant benefits for operational safety while reducing non-productive time (NPT).The Gusto P10000 design Noble Tom Madden deepwater drillship will join Noble Corporation’s Noble Bob Douglas, currently working offshore Guyana, which features the same software and hardware solution including KONGSBERG Riser Management System (RMS)…

17 Apr 2018

MPI Enterprise Fitted with Spudcans

MPI Enterprise (Photo: MPI Offshore)

MPI Offshore’s wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) MPI Enterprise has recently been upgraded with spudcans. The spudcans, which were installed during a drydocking in Rotterdam, increase the load-bearing area when the vessel is jacked up. This, in turn, minimizes penetration of the vessel’s legs into the seabed when working offshore. MPI Enterprise is the newest addition to the company’s WTIV fleet. Built in 2011, and acquired in January 2015, the vessel has brought an additional spread of services and flexibility to the existing array of vessels.

01 Feb 2018

The Role of Safety in the Offshore Environment

© currahee_shutter/Adobe Stock

On rigs and offshore vessels, the safety of crew and passengers is a top priority in the energy industry. However, with the particularly hazardous environments of remote offshore worksites, accidents can happen, and it’s up to the operators to ensure their crew members are well-equipped to handle an emergency situation. One of the ways they can provide safe conditions on their assets is to invest in the newest, most advanced technologies with enhanced safety features and better automation, keeping more of their crew out of harm’s way.

13 Nov 2017

Marine Piping: It's Not Rocket Science

Anything but unconventional, Viega piping products and systems provide uncommon time savings and safer repairs, leading to a better bottom line. The maritime industry, over time, has been unusually resistant to change in many aspects of how it operates. Arguably, the ‘biggest’ advances on the water spanning a five decade period leading up to the beginning of the new millennium could be measured in terms of deadweight tonnage and/or the length of a particular class of hulls. Nowhere is that reality more evident than in the shipyard, and looking at what equipment and hardware is used to build and repair marine vessels – now and in the past. Marine piping systems are a perfect example.

11 Jul 2017

New Motion Compensated Gangway Unveiled

Photo: Barge Master

Barge Master and Bosch Rexroth have jointly introduced a new motion compensated gangway to the offshore wind market. After numerous simulations and virtual tests, the first actually manufactured gangway is currently being tested onshore at the Bosch Rexroth facilities in Boxtel, the Netherlands. On June 21 this location was transformed into a presentation area, where the visitors were informed about the partnership between the two companies, and allowed to have a close look at the complex technology on the demonstrated gangway.

12 Jun 2017

Mental Health at Sea: A Storm is Brewing

© Sebastian / Adobe Stock

According to the latest statistics, over 25 percent of people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives and for those working offshore, this figure is significantly and potentially dangerously higher. What’s more, the problem’s growing. So, what’s causing the rise of mental health problems within our industry and why are seafarers more likely to suffer from these issues than those working on land? Most importantly, what can be done to solve the problem and establish a happier, healthier and safer workforce on the 51,000+ merchant ships that sail our seas?

17 Feb 2017

ELA Offshore Develops New Type of Container

Photo: ELA Container Offshore

Offshore managed to deliver all required containers from scratch in only 3 months from project kick-off, including design and development up to turnkey delivery on an offshore converter station in the German North Sea. “To come up with the best suitable container type, especially for Offshore Windfarms, we sat together with our customer, DNVGL and German authorities, who are responsible for the German “Arbeitsstättenrichtlinien (ASR)”, to create a new generation of container type”, says Hans Gatzemeier, Managing Director of ELA Container Offshore GmbH.

27 Jul 2016

Summer Cruise to North Sea Oil Rigs Amazes Tourists

Bored with palm-fringed beaches and turquoise seas? Then the gigantic oil platforms of the North Sea beckon. The first ever "rig-spotting" cruise just ended off the coast of Norway, and those onboard the four-day trip said it was jawdropping. "I couldn't believe that these big buildings could be made," said passenger Kari Somme, 86, after seeing Statoil's Troll A platform - the heaviest structure ever moved by mankind - towering 200 metres (650 feet) above the surface of the sea. "It's just wonderful, just wonderful. I was so excited because I didn't know much about it. So when I came here and we went from rig to rig, or platform to platform, I was amazed," she said. The North Sea is usually known for its cold and storms.

06 May 2016

McDermott Wins Contract in Arabian Gulf

McDermott International Inc. received three separate engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) projects in multiple Arabian Gulf fields. The EPCI contracts were given by a major national oil company;  In addition to this, there has also been an award of an additional scope on an existing contract, also being executed in the Arabian Gulf. Combined, these projects’ total scope includes EPCI for jackets and topsides, subsea pipelines and subsea cables. Work on the projects is expected to be executed through the fourth quarter of 2017. “These awards are due, in part, to McDermott’s ability to provide a highly efficient solution with schedule certainty and draws upon our in-depth knowledge and experience working offshore in the Middle East area over many years…

27 Oct 2015

LR to help China Design Shipborne Nuclear Power

Lloyd’s Register announced a co-operative Framework Agreement with the Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) in Chengdu, to assist in the design and development of a safe and secure floating vessel containing a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) – a first for China. Mark Bassett, Nuclear Director at Lloyd’s Register Energy, says: “NPIC recognises Lloyd’s Register’s unique combination of experience in nuclear, offshore and marine safety and regulation. The first contract under this Framework Agreement is to develop new nuclear safety regulations, safety guidelines, and nuclear code and standards for the floating vessel, that are consistent with Offshore and International Marine Regulations and the IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards.

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