It’s Good News Monday!
This Monday we talk about:
Today’s OSV: don’t forget the batteries
Oceaneering Donates ROVs to Global Ocean
Propulsion developed for shallow draught and hybrid operations
Corvus' Energy Storage Systems for Harvey Gulf's Offshore Vessels
Maersk extends commitment to clean up ocean plastics
Global Drone Inspection to take on specialist demand for drone and ROV services from RIMS BV
Equinor Selected for US' Largest Offshore Wind Award
Image Credit: Riviera
Batteries help reduce fuel consumption, lower emissions, and provide safer operations. Most new vessels are now being ordered with battery systems with upgrades for many existing ships planned. Some owners are even adding batteries to LNG ships, but what does this mean? Batteries make vessels more robust, while also reducing long-term costs and helping to meet greenhouse gas goals. Wärtsilä is seeing the benefits with it’s Harvey ships:
“Following sea trials of Harvey Energy, Wärtsilä placed an order with Canadian-Norwegian battery provider Corvus Energy for four Orca energy storage systems (ESS) for HGIM vessels.
The reasoning behind this decision, according to HGIM chief executive Shane Guidry, is straightforward: clients and investors are increasingly demanding energy efficiency and emissions reduction. Mr Guidry said: ‘This fleet of vessels will be crucial in assisting our clients’ efforts to achieve net carbon zero, and we will continue to listen to them and invest in technology that will assist with their goals.’
…
The four LNG-battery hybrid vessels – Harvey Liberty, Harvey Power, Harvey Freedom and Harvey America – will be fitted with the 1,100VDC – 745 kWh ESSs in 2021 and are expected to go into service in early 2022.”
Many more vessels are being fitted with energy storage systems. OneStep Power tests vessels like these for safe closed bus operation before they are fitted with hybrid systems. We tested the Harvey Energy prior to its sea trials to ensure safe operation.
Image Credit: Offshore Engineer
Oceaneering has donated three deep-sea exploration vessels to Global Oceans, an ocean science nonprofit based in the United States. “The donation includes the Magellan 725 ROV, the Ocean Discovery ROV, and the Ocean Explorer 6000 Towed Sonar System, together with the infrastructure needed to deploy the vehicles including winches, cranes, power systems, operational modules, workshops, and supplies.” The ROVs have been involved in such projects as live-streaming video from the Titanic and the recovery of the lost Apollo “Liberty Bell 7” space capsule. The two parties will jointly operate the 6000-meter capable ROVs on future projects.The ROVs will be set up for sample retrieval, storage, video, and lighting.
Image Credit: Riviera
A new shallow-water propulsion system has been developed by Veth Propulsion and Twin Disc for traversing shallower waterways. The system will use both diesel and electric inputs and was created due to the water levels in rivers falling over the years. Smaller propellers are used with a small tunnel for each azimuth thruster to get the same benefits as larger units. This will give ships the same thrust with a much smaller footprint underneath the vessel. Twin Disc and Veth work on many electric and hybrid solutions for vessels, check out more of their solutions in the article above.
Image Credit: Offshore Engineer
According to a new contract, Corvus Energy will be working with Wärtsilä on providing its Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to the OSV fleet run by Harvey Gulf. The orders came after the successful sea trial for Harvey Energy, which was tested for closed bus compliance by OneStep Power prior to operation of the new system. According to Shane Guidry, Harvey Gulf CEO, “‘This fleet of vessels will be crucial in assisting our clients’ efforts to achieve net carbon zero, and we will continue to listen to them and invest in technology that will assist with their goals.’” Combining the ESS with Wärtsilä’s Energy Management System (EMS) allows dynamic positioning with a single engine and battery power. When stationary, the vessels will be able to operate on battery power alone. Check out the article for more details on this specific contract.
Image Credit: Riviera
AP Møller-Maersk is extending its partnership with The Ocean Cleanup for three additional years. Maersk Supply Service will provide a flotilla of vessels to help remove ocean plastic, including handling, storage, and transport. The first plastic collected in Q4 of 2020 was turned into recycled products. According to Maersk Supply Service chief executive Steen Karstensen, “A great takeaway from the collaboration with The Ocean Cleanup is the willingness people have to find solutions that are both impactful for the marine industry and are better for the environment.” They also plan to help The Ocean Cleanup with their supply chain management.
Maersk is also releasing a plastic policy to reduce their own plastic waste in their supply chain. “Maersk Supply Service’s commitment has been strengthened by introducing a plastic policy to reduce waste. This has three navigating principles: to use marine expertise to develop solutions to remove plastic waste; to avoid unnecessary plastics in operations; and to engage with suppliers, partners, customers and employees to find solutions to minimise plastic use.” Maersk will be transparent about its findings and results with the program.
Image Credit: gCaptain
RIMS (Robotics in Maintenance Strategies) BV has created a new company, Global Drone Inspection (GDI), to provide asset inspection services with drones and ROVs and other new technologies related to inspection. Remote inspection is a growing market as new solutions make it easier and safer to keep up on maintenance and damage. RIMS was started in 2015 to improve maintenance strategies with drones and robotics and expects to continue their high level of service with GDI.
Image Credit: Offshore Engineer
Equinor, in partnership with bp has been selected to provide New York with almost 2,500 megawatts of renewable energy in the form of offshore wind. Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 will each provide more than 1,200 MW of power with more than 90 turbines each. The transaction should be closed in the next few months. The United States has no large utility scale wind farms operational, but could become top 5 soon with up to 30 gigawatts by 2030 installed in the Atlantic. The nearly 2.5 GW clean energy project will provide 5,200+ jobs and bring another $8.9 billion in investment.
Smile, it’s Good News Monday! :-)