Offshore Energy Market News

Shipowner and shipping fund manager Pelagic Partners announced it has teamed up with asset management firm Borealis Maritime to invest in a pair of platform supply vessels (PSV).Built in 2021, the 89-meter Aurora Coey – formerly Viking Coey – and Aurora Cooper – ex-Viking Cooper – are both dual-fuel and capable of operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as being ammonia-ready. The ice-class sister vessels are fitted with hybrid battery power, and Low Loss Concept (LLC) solutions that further reduce emissions…

Saipem and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate commercial and industrial opportunities for cooperation in the field of autonomous subsea vehicles (AUV) and their integration with surface and underwater units.The MoU is among the initiatives aimed at promoting and developing Italy’s national excellence in the underwater sector.The agreement aims to enable the two companies to participate in major programs in the Italian and international markets in the area of surveillance and control of critical underwater infrastructure and rescue activities…

Norwegian shipbuilder and ship designer Ulstein has developed a new subsea vessel - ULSTEIN SX232 – designed to service the offshore wind market for floating and fixed installations as well as offshore oil and gas industry.Designed for walk-to-work operations in the offshore energy market, the ULSTEIN SX232 features an optimizes hull based on the ULSTEIN TWIN X-STERN design.The vessel is equipped with smart power and propulsion system developed to minimize energy consumption during DP operations and an integrated energy recovery system utilizing all the waste heat in the machinery systems…

Offshore installation and decommissioning contractor Allseas said Tuesday it had successfully removed and transported to shore Repsol Norge’s 30,000-tonne Gyda platform "in a matter of days."According to the company, Allseas' Pioneering Spirit, the world's largest offshore construction ship, delivered Gyda platform’s 11,000-tonne jacket to Aker Solutions’ disposal yard in Stord, Norway, less than 48 hours after removing it from the southern Norwegian Sea. "The latest job for the vessel’s new jacket lift technology is one of the heaviest ever but well within the system’s 20…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards and offshore gangway specialist Ampelmann have launched the joint venture OceanXpress to provide offshore crew change solutions in the North Sea area. "This collaboration will see the introduction of a new service to the offshore access market that neatly combines the engineering feats of Damen’s Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 7011 Aqua Helix with the S-type motion compensated gangway system from Ampelmann," the companies said Friday.The vessel and…

Offshore installation and decommissioning contractor Allseas has removed the Ninian Northern jacket in the North Sea in a single lift, showcasing its new jacket lifting system installed aboard its giant Pioneering Spirit vessel.In what was the first deployment of the new jacket lifting technology, Pioneering Spirit removed CNR International’s Ninian Northern jacket from the northern North Sea and transported it intact to shore for recycling.Weighing in at 8100 tonnes, the first commercial lift with Pioneering Spirit’s Jacket lift system (JLS) is one of the heaviest offshore jackets lifts ever…

An official launching ceremony for the Green Jade DP3 heavy lift and installation vessel, the first such vessel built in Taiwan, was held at CSBC’s shipyard in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.The news was shared by the Belgian offshore installation firm DEME Offshore, part of CDWE consortium with CSBC, which commissioned the vessel in 202.The vessel is designed to handle the next generation of multi-megawatt turbines, jackets and components. "‘Green Jade’ will be the second of these exceptional vessels to enter the fleet.

U.S.-based seabed survey and ocean exploration firm Ocean Infinity has hired VARD to design and build a new series of six multi-purpose offshore vessels that will all be operated from shore and will eventually run on green ammonia.This order of six, 85-metre, optionally crewed robotic vessels will take Ocean Infinity’s remote vessel fleet to 23 vessels, which the company says is the largest in the world. To remind, Ocean Infinity in early 2020 said it would launch a new marine technology and data company Armada…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen said Thursday that the first of Damen's ground-breaking Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 7011 class has completed its sea trials coast of Turkey and is now set to move to the Netherlands."The offshore energy market and prospective customers will soon be able to experience the comfort and capabilities of the 74-meter, 40 knots, 122-passenger, crew change vessel," the company said.Damen said that the FCS 7011, in combination with the latest Ampelmann walk-to-work system…

Offshore Support and Logistics Services Company (OFCO – Offshore International), the integrated maritime logistics service provider that is jointly owned by Allianz Marine & Logistics Services (AMLS) and SAFEEN, Abu Dhabi Ports’ marine services arm, announced it has acquired seven offshore support vessels, including four anchor handling tugs, a 65-meter landing craft, as well as a supply ship and multipurpose safety standby vessel.Officially launched in January 2021, OFCO provides onshore and offshore integrated logistics solutions, and subsea services.

SBM Offshore, a Dutch company best known for its FPSO leasing business, has developed an artificial intelligence-powered mooring lines monitoring solution which has now received new technology qualification from classification society ABS.The company said that the NTQ by ABS allows its AI-powered Intelligent Agent Mooring Line Integrity Tool to be integrated into offshore systems for the first time.According to SBM Offshore, the tool enables the detection of a potential mooring line failure and its location…

As many maritime markets were challenged by COVID-19, Royal IHC, a Dutch maritime conglomerate and bellwether for the industry, reported its annual numbers indicated the smoke is clearing and a recovery is in sight.2020 will surely go down as a year many inside and out of the maritime industry will want to soon forget, and in releasing its annual figures Royal IHC noted that the first half of 2020 was dominated by refinancing and recapitalization, with COVID-19 having a "major impact" on order intakes throughout 2020.

After what has seemed like the longest year ever, the offshore energy sector is emerging from a position of strength, from the standpoint of both economics and sustainability. Between the lockdowns implemented to reduce COVID-19, which reduced energy demand, to the oil price war between state-backed producers, 2020 was an unprecedented storm that hit the American offshore energy market. Now, there are unmistakable signs of a recovery, and policy makers in Washington, D.C. should embrace the opportunity before us to for sustained economic…

Dublin-based Irish Commercial Charter Boats (ICCB) has ordered a bespoke 12-meter landing craft to support a wave of offshore energy projects on the horizon. The Chartwell Marine-designed vessel will be built at the Arklow Marine shipyard starting this month for schedule delivery in summer 2021.With a number of large-scale energy projects coming to Irish waters, the aluminum vessel has been developed to meet ICCB’s expanding operational requirements, including surveying, assisting with cable landing and transporting supplies and personnel to near-shore offshore installations.

Coastwise Offshore Services and Next Generation Shipyards signed a contract for the building of a new type of vessel, an aluminum vessel for the offshore wind-industry, with an option for three additional vessels. The signing took place at Next Generation Shipyards on Lauwersoog, the Netherlands. The new boat aims to combine the stability of a catamaran with the speed and fuel efficiency of a monohull, and the building of the vessel was at the initiative of Coastwise Offshore Services, the new shipping enterprise owned by Eelko Wijdieks, Douwe van den Berg and Onno Nienhuis.

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has ordered the first commercial unit of a new Corvus Energy high-density lithium-ion capacitor energy storage system (ESS) Blue Marlin.According to Corvus, which plans to market the system to the offshore energy market, the Blue Marlin uses lithium-ion capacitor (LiC) cells that sustain very high charge/discharge rates of 550 C peak and 200 C continuous, enabling both energy recapture and fast discharge for high-power load handling. It can deliver beyond a million cycles with minimal capacity loss…

High Speed Transfers goes global with BareFLEET, as the firm commits to monitoring and reporting best practice proven across European operations.High Speed Transfers (HST), a Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) operator supporting the offshore wind energy and oil and gas industries, is adopting BareFLEET, Reygar’s advanced remote monitoring system, across the entirety of its fleet as the business looks to replicate its European successes in the U.S. and Taiwanese markets.Offshore energy is an increasingly global sector…

July brought news about offshore wind. There was something for everyone: optimism, disappointment, and construction, too.Finally, starting with Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, a joint venture with Danish wind developer Orsted is underway. True, this is a small project – just two wind turbines to be installed 27 miles east of Virginia Beach. But considering all the preceding hurdles, news about Dominion blew in as proverbial, hopeful fresh air. Surely…

International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) Offshore Energy Committee reported a further reduction in global offshore energy premiums.Global premiums in this sector were reported to be USD 3.4 billion which represented a 3% reduction from 2017. This continued the downward trend: premiums in 2017 were down 5% on the previous year and premiums in 2016 were down 21% on 2015.James McDonald, Chair of the IUMI Offshore Energy Committee said: "The drop in premium income has largely followed the oil price which has dipped by around 20% over the past year. Oil demand is being affected by trade tensions which is impacting economies across the world.

Two Belgian companies - Aerospace industry supplier SABCA and DEME Offshore - have formed a partnership to use drones for inspection services in the offshore wind energy industry.SABCA, a leading tier 1 aerospace industry supplier and DEME Offshore, a worldwide leader in solutions and services for the offshore energy market, have entered into a partnership for the development and deployment of Unmanned Vehicles to perform surveillance and inspection works in the offshore industry.Complementing each other’s core experience and know-how, both companies are convinced that these innovative, advanced technologies have a game-changing potential to increase health and safety of their employees…

BMT said it has secured a contract to provide Njord Offshore with two 23m crew transfer vessels (CTV).The contract, which follows the recent launch of 27m CTVs Njord Zenith and Njord Zephyr designed by BMT and built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards in China, marks the first mid-range CTV BMT has designed.Jago Lawless, Technical Director at BMT, said, “We have refined the hull design based on real data we have taken from our existing 26m and 21m vessels that are currently operating throughout Europe.

Bourbon Corporation CEO Gael Bodénès & his team plot a bold new course for this offshore industry stalwart.Your career with Bourbon has traversed many industry fluctuations. Looking back to when you joined the company, how is Bourbon today most the same, and most different?Bourbon has transformed from a small regional company to a world recognized leader in offshore marine services. It has seen its teams grow from a 3,000 to more than 8,000 employees of 88 nationalities, the fleet has grown to more than 500 units…

Dutch transportation and installation contractor Jumbo said it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with shipbuilder China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMIH) for the construction of a new heavy lift crane vessel (HLCV) scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2020. The DP2 vessel will feature dual fuel engines capable of operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG), and will be built to serve the offshore wind and the offshore oil and gas industries. “Despite the current offshore climate, we are committing to this industry long term,” said Jumbo managing director, Michael Kahn.