Dutch owner Acta Marine has secured charters for two of its newbuilding wind farm vessels designed to run on methanol.
The company said it has signed a 12-year deal for two SX216-class service operation vessels (SOVs) to support North Sea offshore wind farms operated by RWE.
The contracts “demonstrate RWE’s commitment to decarbonising the operation of its offshore wind farms,” Acta added.
The vessels will run out of Grimsby in England.
They will be the first in the world to be built with the capability of being powered by methanol and batteries.
This could save up to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
The SOVs have been ordered at Tersan Shipyard in Turkey. They will begin operations in 2025 and 2026.
“Both vessels will be methanol-ready from day one, and will support the day-to-day operations and maintenance of two of RWE’s largest offshore wind projects,” Acta said.
These are the newly operational 857MW Triton Knoll and the 1.4GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, which is now under construction.
RWE is the world’s second largest offshore wind player.
Tersan newbuildings on order
Rob Boer, Acta’s managing director, said: “The ability to use e-methanol from day one of our operations with RWE drives the reduction of greenhouse gases significantly.”
“The vessels have been designed for high performance in-field agility whilst reducing power consumption as much as possible,” he added.
Last June, Acta Marine ordered up to four commission/service operation vessels (CSOVs) at Turkey’s Tersan Shipyard.
No price has been revealed for the two firm newbuildings, but the contract came with options for two more ships in the series.
CSOVs can cost upwards of $125m.
These new designs will run on methanol and marine diesel or hydrotreated vegetable oil, sometimes known as renewable diesel.
