(Frederica, Esbjerg / Denmark) – The Danish energy group Ørsted A/S and the Danish offshore wind turbine services provider Esvagt A/S are investing in a service operation vessel (SOV) that can run on environmentally friendly fuels. The engines run on e-methanol, which is produced from wind energy and biogenic carbon.
Service ship with comfort
The maintenance of an offshore wind farm is carried out by highly specialized service technicians who are often at sea for weeks, the companies explain. The new SOV from Esvagt will be 93 meters long, 19,60 meters wide and has a maximum draft of 6,50 meters. It is designed for 124 people and has a helipad. The speed should be around 14 knots.
It offers a highly efficient work area including a workshop and storage for equipment and spare parts. For crew and passengers there are, among other things, fitness facilities, a gaming room and a cinema. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2022 and commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Use in the “Hornsea” wind farm
Esvagt will use the ship for Ørsted’s “Hornsea 2” offshore wind farm. There, around 90 kilometers off the east coast of Great Britain, 165 Siemens Gamesa turbines with a cumulative output of more than 1,3 gigawatts are currently being installed. Completion is scheduled for this year. 
A consortium operating under the name “Oyster” has also selected the port town of Grimsby on the Humber Estuary, which is closest to the wind farm, as the location for a renewable hydrogen production project. In addition to Ørsted, the British manufacturer of electrolysers ITM Power plc, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and the British consulting company Element Energy are involved.
Methanol from Ørsted
Ørsted wants to supply the methanol for the SOV drive. The company recently received an order from the Danish logistics group AP Moller-Maersk to build a factory for E-methanol on the US Gulf Coast with an annual capacity of 300.000 tons. Maersk wants to use the fuel in a fleet of twelve ships with a capacity of 16.000 containers each, the construction of which has already been commissioned.
The maritime sector “urgently needs new environmentally friendly fuels,” which are now even more expensive than fossil alternatives, said Ørsted. By ordering the new SOV, we are helping to “create the necessary demand” to accelerate cost reductions in the maritime industry.
deep link
https://orsted.com/en/media/newsroom/news/2022/04/13648631
Photos
Ørsted and Esvagt have a methanol-powered service ship built. © Ørsted AS
Class schedule
Location of the three “Hornsea” wind farms off the British east coast. © Ørsted AS
