Workboat Association launches vessel decarbonisation work group

Decarbonisation of vessels in the offshore wind sector is the subject of the second webinar in Riviera Maritime media’s Offshore Wind Webinar week. The webinar, ’Green vessels for a green industry: the offshore wind sector’s race to decarbonise its assets,’ takes place on Wednesday 10 June, 09.00-09.45 BST.

Along-side decarbonisation efforts, the group expects to turn its attention to compliance, safety and specific rule requirements further down the line.

The first meeting took place on 5 May 2020 with a presentation from Ørsted on ‘The route to carbon neutral offshore logistics,’ which mapped out a pathway to decarbonisation, while highlighting the importance for the industry to combine short term optimisation with long-term technology research and development.

Operators in attendance at this first meeting included, Offshore Turbine Services, Maritime Craft Services and Williams Shipping. In its future sessions, the group will provide a sounding board for members to explore the various technologies available and debate the pros and cons, while promoting a culture of education through shared experiences.

“As offshore wind continues the move towards decarbonisation, it is vital that the maritime supply chain is ready to meet these demands,” said the association. “Key players such as Ørsted have already set concrete goals ahead of government regulation.”

The working group aims to head off any future commercial challenges by aligning expectations across the industry. This supports a greater understanding within the sector on how technology can add value to assets, reduce costs and minimise harmful emissions.

The group will feature a broad range of industry stakeholders, including engine manufacturers, OEMs and vessel operators, who will share viewpoints and long-term goals in a transparent, non-commercial setting – supporting industries such as offshore wind as they look to a coordinated approach to technical challenges.

Workboat Association chief executive Kerrie Forster said, “It is important that we continue to recruit a diverse membership from all areas of the industry – along-side vessel operators and naval architects, the input in these meetings from consultants and seafarers provides an invaluable perspective and we very much look forward to engaging further with a variety of stakeholders in future meetings.”

The next meeting of the group is set to take place on 9th June. Andy Page of Chartwell Marine, the vessel design company, is the working group chairman.

As recently highlighted by OWJ, six Danish firms – Copenhagen Airports, AP Moller-Maersk, DSV Panalpina, DFDS, SAS and Ørsted – have formed a partnership to develop an industrial-scale hydrogen and e-fuel production facility for road, maritime and air transport in the Copenhagen area.

In February, Ørsted announced it will be carbon neutral by 2025 and will reach net-zero emissions across the company’s entire carbon footprint by 2040. Providing details of how it plans to achieve this goal, the company said its carbon footprint consists of two parts: the company’s own emissions from energy generation and operations; and emissions from the energy traded by the company and the goods and services in its supply chain.