Danish OSV operator and subsea specialist NCT Offshore has taken delivery of a new cable-laying vessel (CLV), Freja, which will assist its activities in the offshore renewable energy sector. Operating from her homeport of Klintebjerg, Freja measures approximately 95m in length and 21.5m in breadth and was constructed by Norwegian shipbuilder Vard. Based on the […]
Offshore wind faces a turbulent end to the year, with setbacks and negative news threatening the sector’s festive spirit. As reported by Reuters, Denmark’s largest North Sea wind power tender to date – launched in April this year, and covering three North Sea sites – received no bids, with the deadline having expired on 5 […]
A nine-partner Japanese consortium has commenced work on a 30MW+ floating wind farm, situated approximately 25km off the coast of Akita Prefecture. The consortium, working under the banner of ‘The Southern Akita Floating Offshore Demonstration Project Aimed at Overseas Expansion via Cost Reductions’, will install two floating wind turbines, each rated more than 15MW, in […]
A £1.4 million UK project is currently trialling the use of new artificial intelligence (AI) control systems for autonomous underwater robots, dedicated to offshore wind farm repairs and maintenance. The project, dubbed Underwater Intervention for Offshore Renewable Energies (UNITE), is an Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity Partnership programme, led by Heriot-Watt University, […]
The story of Thailand’s first pair of gyrostabilised, 42m-long fast crewboats (FCBs) conceals another, writes Stevie Knight: how did Southerly Designs’ FCB concept establish a perpetual offshore presence from 2001 to today’s Gen 4 models? And how is the design faring with the push toward new technology? Southerly’s FCB concept has seen a 23-year run, […]
It seems that, no matter how many times the maritime and offshore sectors flag the problem, enclosed space fatalities just won’t go away. A recent report from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) reveals that, of 1,611 standard vessel inspection reports uploaded to its Common Marine Inspection Documents (eCMID) and Common Marine Inspection Documents for […]
If the subsea deployment of ROVs, AUVs and UUVs can reduce Opex and emissions, it makes sense that using an uncrewed vessel to launch and recover these drones could boost operational efficiency even further. That’s the rationale behind the design of the Ocean Aurora: a remotely operated ‘drone launchpad’ conceived by offshore survey/inspection services provider […]
Whatever happened to the tidal energy sector? Given the relatively muted press coverage, compared to the column inches devoted to offshore wind farms, you’d be forgiven for thinking that tidal energy capture projects had tailed off somewhat in the past few years – though this is far from being the case. Perhaps wave turbines are […]