It’s Good News Monday!
This Monday we talk about:
Xodus, BSG Launch Project in U.S. to Bring Offshore Wind Jobs to Underrepresented Groups
Why Ulstein’s X-Bow and hydrogen will be used in new box ship design
Crowley and Mass Maritime Partner on Offshore Wind Workforce Training
DEME Offshore's Jack-Up to Get Huisman Crane for Giant Next-gen Wind Turbines
Maersk Makes $1.4 Billion Bet On Methanol Ships
“Credit: phi771/AdobeStock”. Offshore worker at a wind farm. Image from Offshore Engineer.
Xodus, a UK-based energy consulting company, is working with the Browning the Green Space (BGS) coalition to increase underrepresented populations in offshore wind in Massachusetts. It has received $140,000 from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to “Target groups includ[ing] people of color, indigenous people, women, students in vocational-technical education programs, and unemployed and low-income individuals.” High schools and community colleges will be targeted with educational campaigns to show more about the offshore wind industry. Read more about BGS and their efforts in the original article.
“Why hydrogen fuel cells and the Ulstein X-Bow will work together well in a container ship design (source: Ulstein)”. Image from Riviera.
Ulstein and Edge Navigation are looking into hydrogen propulsion for a non-fossil fuel box ship concept that will incorporate the X-Bow hull design. This will be the first usage of the X-Bow on a container ship; it’s expected to reduce vibration from waves hitting the hull, reducing stress for those on board as well as reducing power needs. The hull still keeps good speed and they are looking at small and large container ship designs with the goal of having a vessel in the water in 2025.
“Image courtesy Crowley”. Image from gCaptain.
Crowley Maritime Corporation and Massachusetts Maritime Academy are partnering to train offshore wind workers. This is a first of its kind training program for the New England area energy industry, whose goal is to increase the qualified workforce with safety and survival instruction. Global Wind Organisation (WGO) will certify the program and the academy will coordinate with Relyon Nutec, “the world’s largest provider of specialized instruction for energy and industrial sectors, to deliver the courses.” Crowley provides scholarships, internships, and other hands-on learning opportunities for MMA cadets.
“Credit: DEME Offshore”. WTIV jack-up at an offshore wind farm. Image from Offshore Engineer.
DEME Offshore is planning an upgrade to its vessel Sea Installer’s crane, from 900 tons to 1,600 tons. Huisman, the Dutch crane installer, will be performing the upgrade, getting the vessel ready for the next generation of wind turbines that are growing ever larger. The first project for the newly upgraded Sea Installer will be Vineyard Wind 1, an 800 MW offshore wind project in the US. The wind farm will consist of 62 GE Haliade-X turbines that are 248 meters tall with 220 meter diameter rotors and 107 meter blades. Sea Installer is currently at Hornsea Two in the UK before it starts its first US-based project.
Huisman is doubling its bearing capacity to meet the demand for large bearings for offshore wind installations. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co placed an order last month for a 2,600mt Leg Encircling Crane (LEC) for an Eneti newbuild wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). “The new Leg Encircling Crane has a 147-meter long boom, capable of reaching 170 meters above deck. With its 2,600mt lifting capacity, the crane will be able to install up to 20MW turbines, which are expected to come to the market in the near future.”
“The stack of a Maersk ship showing the company's star logo. Photo via Maersk”. Image from gCaptain.
A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S (AMKBY) is making a $1.4B investment in greener shipping with an order for eight new vessels that can run on methanol. They are $175 million each and are expected to start delivery in 2024. But Maersk isn’t the only company looking to decarbonize, Euronav NV, an oil tanker owner, ordered new ships that could run on ammonia or LNG. Cargill also plans to add wing sails to some of its fleet.
In February 2021, Maersk stated all newbuild vessels will be able to use carbon-neutral fuels. It ordered a small container vessel that could run on clean Methanol, but this order is larger with each new ship’s capacity at 16,000 containers. The additional cost of being able to run methanol and regular fuel is about 10-15% of the ship’s cost, along with double the price for clean fuel itself - about a 15% overall rate increase.
“‘We don’t believe in more fossil fuels,’ Morten Bo Christiansen, vice president and head of decarbonization, said in an interview. ‘A lot of our customers are very, very supportive of this.’”
Smile, it’s Good News Monday! :-)