Vestas and N-O-S to Test Methanol-Powered CTV Offshore Germany

December 21, 2022, by Adnan Durakovic

Vestas has signed a five-year charter with Northern Offshore Services (N-O-S) to explore how the world’s first methanol-powered crew transfer vessel (CTV) can help reduce carbon emissions from its offshore service operations.

The CTV, provided and developed by N-O-S, will be powered by a dual-fuel solution, capable of being powered by methanol, but also able to fall back on marine gas oil if methanol is not available.

”Service vessels drive a significant portion of Vestas’ direct carbon emissions, and while there are several promising new technologies that provide a solution to this challenge, many are still in the early stages of maturity. To drive decarbonisation, we need to see solutions like methanol fuel maturing much faster. Industry leaders can accelerate this journey by lending their support, and Vestas is therefore proud to be the first sustainable energy leader to be exploring the use of methanol powered vessels in our service operations,” said Kieran Walsh, Senior Vice President, Service, Northern & Central Europe, Vestas.

The vessel will be deployed in Vestas’ Service operations at the Arcadis Ost site, owned by Parkwind, in 2023.

The goal of the charter agreement will be to collect insights into the opportunities and limitations of methanol-powered vessels in offshore service operations.

N-O-S’s CTV is said to hold the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 70 per cent in comparison to a traditional vessel. This carbon reduction potential will be validated during the charter.

”We are pleased that Vestas wants to move forward with Northern Offshore Services on this journey for a sustainable shipping future. With a continuous focus on sustainability, we are developing our vessels to have a lower environmental impact,” said David Kristensson, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Northern Offshore Services.

Vestas currently runs service operations across 7 GW of offshore wind projects in seven markets, with an ambition to scale up significantly in line with global climate goals. Accounting for one-third of Vestas’ scope 1&2 emissions, reducing carbon emissions associated with offshore operations is a high priority in Vestas’ journey towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030, without the use of offsets.