Vestas and N-O-S to Run First Methanol-Powered CTV at German Wind Farm
Vestas, which designs, installs, and services wind farms around the world, announced plans to deploy the first methanol-powered offshore crew transfer vessel at a German wind farm it will be servicing. In collaboration with vessel supplier Northern Offshore Services (N-O-S), Vestas has signed a five-year charter to explore how the methanol-powered CTV can help reduce carbon emissions from its offshore service operations. The company says it is part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions from all aspects of its operation.
“Service vessels drive a significant portion of Vestas’ direct carbon emissions, and while there are several promising new technologies that provide a solution to this challenge, many are still in the early stages of maturity,” said Kieran Walsh, Senior Vice President, Service, Northern & Central Europe, Vestas. “To drive decarbonization, we need to see solutions like methanol fuel maturing much faster. Industry leaders can accelerate this journey by lending their support, and Vestas is therefore proud to be the first sustainable energy leader to be exploring the use of methanol-powered vessels in our service operations.”
The goal of the charter will be to collect insights into the opportunities and limitations of methanol-powered vessels in offshore Service operations. According to the companies, N-O-S’s CTV holds the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent in comparison to a traditional vessel. They will seek to validate these results during the charter.
The CTV, provided and developed by N-O-S, will be powered by a dual-fuel solution, capable of being powered by methanol, but also able to fall back on marine gas oil if methanol is not available. The vessel is part of the company’s T-Class CTV. Built in 2013 in Norway and upgraded in 2020, the m/v Traveller is an 82-foot CTV designed and purpose-built for the offshore wind industry. It has seating for 24 passengers. The large deck space permits it to transport a total of 25 tons.
M/V Traveller has an upgraded propulsion system that features the 4-engine concept (Volvo Penta IPS), offering maximum reliability. As part of the upgrades to the vessel, it was prepared for N-O-S Hybrid Technology where the batteries, engines, and generators work in collaboration to provide energy to the vessel to enable fuel savings.
The vessel will be deployed in 2023 for Vestas’ Service operations at the Arcadis Ost site, owned by Parkwind. It is an offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea approximately 12 miles off the German island Rügen in the federal state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.