North Sea News

Shipping group Maersk said on Tuesday it was among a group of companies backing a plan to build Europe's largest green ammonia plant in Denmark as part of its ambition to shift to carbon-neutral ship fuel.The project, led by fund management firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), will convert green power from North Sea offshore wind parks to zero-carbon ammonia that can be used to power ships and as agricultural fertilizer.Maersk said last week it would accelerate plans to decarbonize seaborne container shipping by putting the world's first vessel powered by carbon-neutral fuel into ope

Danish energy infrastructure investments firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is looking to build what it says is Europe’s largest production facility of CO2-free green ammonia, with the final product aimed at the shipping and agriculture sector as a means to reduce emissions.The project will be located in the town of Esbjerg on the west coast of Denmark, where the facility dubbed "Power-to-X-facility" will convert power from offshore wind turbines to green ammonia. This will be used by the agriculture sector as CO2-free green fertilizer and by the shipping industry as CO2-free green fuel.

Borssele III & IV, one of the largest offshore wind farms in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, has reached full commissioning, Van Oord a partner in the Blauwwind consortium behind the 731.5 MW wind farm's development, said Thursday.Blauwwind is a consortium between Shell, Partners Group, Eneco, DGE and Van Oord.Located 22 kilometers off the Dutch coast and the Province of Zeeland, the wind farm is capable of powering 825,000 Dutch households with electricity. Roeland Borsboom, Project Director for Blauwwind said: "This is a great achievement by everybody involved.

Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa has secured an extension of the operations and maintenance services agreement at the 600-MW Gemini offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea until 2036.The company said in a social media post that the original 15-year long-term service program has been extended by another five years. It did not share the financial details of the agreement."This new agreement builds on the service work that we’ve provided since 2016 including full maintenance of the 150 SG 4.0-130 wind turbines installed at one of the largest wind parks in the Netherlands…

Back in 2017, Ocean Infinity made a novel move; deploying six autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), instead of just one, from a single vessel, vastly increasing the ground that could be covered in a single survey. Now the firm is taking the use of remote, robotic systems a significant step further.Back in 2017, Ocean Infinity made a novel move; deploying six autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), instead of just one, from a single vessel, vastly increasing the ground that could be covered in a single survey.

FPSO operator Bluewater Services signed a framework agreement with marine engineering and maintenance firm Royston for engine overhaul, repair, and associated services on two of its FPSOs.Under the agreement, Royston will carry out planned engine maintenance and emergency repairs on the Haewene Brim and Aoka Mizu FPSOs operating in the North Sea. The framework includes main engine work on both vessels as well as on generator sets and fire pumps.The Samsung built 103,000 DWT, Hæwene Brim…

Denmark has reached a deal on the construction of the first of its kind wind energy hub in the North Sea that promises to produce yet unseen amounts of green electricity, in what has been described as the largest construction project in Danish history.The energy hub - an artificial island - will serve as an offshore power plant gathering and distributing green electricity from hundreds of wind turbines surrounding the island directly to consumers in countries surrounding the North Sea.

Dutch shipbuilder Damen's new Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 7011, which will be able to carry 122 people in a single trip, hit the water earlier this month at Damen Shipyards Antalya, Turkey. The vessel, which Damen has dubbed "as a quantum leap forward in marine access solutions," has been described as a "cost-effective crew transportation alternative boasting robust safety characteristics."According to Damen, the vessel is the largest ever to have been launched in Antalya Free Zone.

Boomsma Shipping announced its general cargo vessel Frisian Sea has been fitted with wind-assisted propulsion units to help reduce the ship's fuel usage and emissions as the shipping industry continues work to reduce its environmental footprint. “We believe it is necessary and very important to meet sustainability challenges to reduce our environmental footprint. Together with the IMO decarbonization goals for 2050 we want to do our part to reduce our fuel consumption and CO2 emissions as soon as possible…

Stolt Tankers said it has been commissioned by chemicals company BASF to help design and build a unique new tanker capable of operating when extremely low water levels hamper river shipping on the Rhine.The Rhine, which starts in Switzerland and flows through Germany and the Netherlands before emptying into the North Sea, is a key waterway for transportation in Europe. During dry weather, barges are often unable to fully load, increasing transport costs and delaying products.Stolt…

Auxiliary wind propulsion systems provide Norsepower said it installed the world’s first tiltable Rotor Sails for SEA-CARGO, a logistics provider in the North Sea market.According the analysis conducted by Norsepower and SEA-CARGO, installation of the two 35-meter tall Rotor Sails on board the SC Connector, a 12,251 gross tonne (GT) sidedoor RoRo vessel, can achieve a fuel consumption, fuel cost and carbon emissions reduction of up to 25%. In good wind conditions, the sailing…

M.A.R.S. Europe said it has been awarded a contract by Teekay Petrojarl Floating Production UK Ltd. for dismantling and recycling of the Petrojarl Banff floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO). The deal includes engineering, preparation, dismantling and green recycling of the long-serving floater.Teekay's Petrojarl Banff FPSO is expected to arrive at M.A.R.S. Europe’s EU-approved facility in the Port of Frederikshavn, Denmark prior to the end of Q1 2021.The decommissioned FPSO, which ceased production in the U.K.

When the maritime history books are written, 2020 will be viewed as a year of pivots, re-invention and new paradigms. By February 2020, concerns about marine fuel’s sulfur content quickly shifted to near-term disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-year, with demand recovering, the conversation turned to longer term questions surrounding the moves towards reduced maritime carbon emissions and alternative fuels. How will this all impact the current fleet?Perhaps the most extreme reaction to the shifting landscape is the ongoing “pivot” of Scorpio Bulk (NYSE: SALT)…

Danish offshore support vessel operator Maersk Supply Service will continue providing marine support to The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit engineering and environmental organization working to rid oceans of plastic pollution.The Ocean Cleanup’s mission is to develop advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. To achieve this goal, the company's aim to stop the inflow via rivers and clean up what has already accumulated in the ocean. Its ultimate goal is reaching a…

Dutch marine contractor Boskalis on Monday acquired all the shares of Rever Offshore’s subsea services business.Rever, formerly known as Bibby Offshore, provides solutions in the area of subsea construction, inspection, repair, and maintenance. The company has operated in the North Sea out of Aberdeen, United Kingdom.Through this transaction, Boskalis will acquire two diving support vessels of which one is fully owned (Rever Polaris) and a second chartered (Rever Topaz). The group employs an onshore staff of around 130 in addition to approximately 220 offshore workers.

Last Tuesday, the crew of the service operations vessel (SOV) Esvagt Njord helped save seven fishermen in distress near the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm in the U.K. North Sea.Esvagt Njord is a wind turbine ship assisting Equinor in the operation of the offshore wind farm off Great Yarmouth on the English east coast. Over the radio, skipper Brian Kristiansen heard a fishing vessel nearby calling for help, and when he responded, he learned that the ship was taking in water. "The fishing vessel had yet to send out a Mayday. We had a feeling, however, that there was a need for help close by.

Offshore vessel operator DOF Subsea has said it has secured several new contracts in the North Sea, Mediterranean, and Africa, however, without sharing the clients' identity.DOF Subsea said Friday that contracted work included a number of turnkey subsea projects within its core service lines - Survey, Inspection, Maintenance & Repair (IMR) and Construction.The vessels Skandi Acergy, Skandi Skansen, Skandi Neptune, and Skandi Seven will be used to deliver work totaling more than…

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Siem Offshore has seen a platform supply vessel contract in Canada terminated almost two years ahead of the expected contract expiration.The company said Friday that its Canadian subsidiary Secunda Canada had received a notice of early termination of the charter party for the vessel Siem Pilot."The original charter period expires in November 2022. Secunda Canada LP will be entitled to an early termination fee," Siem Offshore said. According to available information…

Just hours after announcing three contracts for its platform suppliers in the North Sea and Suriname, Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore released a separate statement on Thursday, announcing charters for three construction vessels.These charters are with an unnamed "large international contractor" and are for the construction support vessels Normand Navigator, Normand Frontier, and Normand Australis.The three vessels will be used for projects on the east coast of India.

Interest in ammonia-powered fuel cells for the maritime sector is growing, but stakeholders have been hesitant to commit to investments in large-scale systems. Now the ShipFC project is aiming to secure a place for ammonia in the future of deep-sea shipping.The project will equip the offshore supply vessel Viking Energy, owned and operated by Eidesvik and on contract to energy major Equinor, with a 2-megawatt (MW) ammonia fuel cell, allowing it to operate for at least 3,000 hours annually on clean fuel.

With increased time in layup and outdated tonnage, surely after all that has occurred in 2020 it’s about time for the offshore support vessel (OSV) sector to address the long standing elephant in the room. This article will focus on platform supply vessel (PSV) layups and will investigate what the future might hold for the troubled OSV sector.Using VesselsValue recency of automatic identification system (AIS) data, we categorize any vessel that has not signaled in over eight weeks as laid up.Looking first at lay up on a global level…

The UK Government has tasked the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and the Workboat Association (WA) with the development of a Technology Roadmap, outlining a route to the decarbonization of North Sea offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) vessels.The roadmap will consider key areas such as vessels, ports, and alternative fuels. As part of this engagement, ORE Catapult and the WA will undertake one-to-one interviews and focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders…

This has certainly been an active year for offshore wind, both in the U.S. and globally. Looking at the U.S. in particular, the East Coast is certainly giving cause for real optimism with a clear pipeline of state procurement targets indicating 12 gigawatts installed by 2030 and 29.1 gigawatts total installed by 2035. That means around $55 to $87 billion of capex, which will support the growth of the significant domestic supply chain.Virginia saw the first installation of offshore wind turbines in federal waters this year with CVOW (Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind) 12 megawatt pilot project.