Bernhard Schulte Offshore Relies on Methanol for Newbuildings

[By: Schulte Group]

The go-ahead has been given. End of October Bernhard Schulte Offshore, the offshore unit of the Schulte Group, celebrated a significant milestone marking the steel cutting ceremony for the first out of two new Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) ordered in July. The ceremony took place at Crist Shipyard in Gdynia where the ship's hull will be built before being transferred to Ulstein Verft in Norway for further outfitting.

Matthias Müller, Managing Director at Bernhard Schulte Offshore, comments: “We are very happy to be back at the shipyard and to kick off the production of these pioneering offshore ships.”

The newbuildings are highly flexible in operation and designed to primarily support the offshore wind energy market. “The energy transition is crucial to achieving the climate goals, and the offshore wind industry plays a significant role in this transition. It is just logical that the supporting logistics for the operation of offshore wind farms should be as climate friendly as possible,” says Müller. The ships will have hybrid battery propulsion and be prepared for methanol fuel to enable carbon-neutral operations. “We are convinced that the ships serve the future market requirements in this demanding segment.”

The vessels feature two sterns and main propellers located at both fore and aft, making them an ideal choice for Dynamic Positioning (DP) operations. Regardless of whether the vessels are facing towards or away from the weather, they maintain excellent operability without any restrictions on speed. With the innovative TWIN X-STERN solution from Ulstein, the ships can achieve improved fuel efficiency while also minimising motion, the latter a crucial element for safety as the technicians need high-quality rest to perform their duties.

The ships have a large, centrally located motion-compensated gangway for walk-to-work operations and elevator tower for personnel and cargo transfers. Furthermore, a 3D compensated crane capable of 5-ton-offshore-cargo lifts is installed. The optimised on-board logistics include large storage capacities and stepless approach to the offshore installations.

The CSOVs have a length of 89.6 m and a beam of 19.2 m. The design is including single cabins for 110 persons. In total, the vessels will be able to accommodate 132 people. The
ships are flexible and attractive for work within areas such as O&M (Operation and Maintenance) or construction support, especially in challenging weather and sea conditions.

The two newbuildings are planned for delivery in 2025 and will complement Bernhard Schulte Offshore's current fleet of three state-of-the-art offshore service vessels.