Marco Polo Marine (MPM) has unveiled new offshore wind service, operation and maintenance vessel designs as part of its expansion into the renewables sector.
The MP S80-20 service operation vessel (SOV) and the S83-21 commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) have been designed for global operations.
The Singapore-listed company said the vessels, which have been co-designed with locally based Seatech Solution, when completed will be the “first SOV and CSOV designed in Asia”.
In addition, the SOV will be the first offshore wind vessel in the world to be drone-equipped for the global wind farm market, MPM said.
“In line environmental sustainability targets, the SOV and CSOV will also be constructed with a focus on energy efficiency,” the company said.
“Equipped with a full suite of daughter craft, elevator towers and skidding systems, the bespoke designed vessels will be future-ready with hybrid battery-based energy storage systems.
“These features will cut fuel consumption and emissions by up to 15% to 20% as compared to non-diesel electric hybrid vessel.”
The SOV functions as a mother ship for wind turbine technicians performing maintenance and service work at offshore wind farms, while the CSOV is designed to support commissioning works during construction of offshore wind farms, as well as their maintenance operations.
“This project showcases Marco Polo Marine’s established track record in constructing offshore supply vessels, as well as its extensive operational expertise in servicing the offshore wind farm market,” said MPM chief executive Sean Lee.
“Essentially, the SOV and CSOV represent a milestone and a giant leap forward for the offshore maritime industry, as it transitions to fuels with a lower or minimal carbon footprint.
“This project brings together different industry players with aligned values to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which dovetails with global and Singapore government initiatives to combat climate change,” he added.
Clarksons Platou Offshore & Renewables recently said that the offshore wind market was facing growing competition for CSOVs from the recovering offshore oil and gas market.
“Shipbrokers and analysts for years warned about what would eventually happen once the oil and gas market recovered, and offshore wind continued to grow,” it said.
The renewables sector already accounts for about 20% of MPM’s revenues and the company recently teamed-up with Singapore-based F-drones to develop delivery drones for the offshore wind farm sector.
The two companies aim to develop the world’s first large-scale, electric aerial delivery drone to address the sectors growing logistics needs.
MPM and F-drones calculate that such a drone could generation cost savings of more than 90% and be four times faster than current delivery methods.
The two companies said using drones also has an added environmental benefit with a significant reduction in fuel consumption achieved when conducting remote delivery of packages of up to 100kg and emergency deliveries to vessels.
