Bibby Marine is building the first electric service vessel for offshore wind farms, a 90-metre ship that will run entirely on battery power while at sea. Offshore wind support vessels are essential for maintaining the UK’s growing fleet of wind farms—between 62 and 149 will be needed by 2030—but even the best current ships burn fossil fuel, costing over £17.5 million in environmental damage over their lifetimes. All existing UK-operating vessels of this type were built abroad. This project aims to break that pattern by designing a ship that can operate emission-free for up to two weeks, recharging at night from offshore charging stations. When batteries run low, dual-fuel methanol engines serve as backup, still cutting emissions by 90% compared to conventional vessels—saving the taxpayer roughly £787,500 per year in environmental damage. Near-shore battery-only operations also reduce public health impacts from exhaust. If successful, the eSOV could kick-start demand for zero-emission vessels and break the current stalemate between ship and charging infrastructure. The consortium—including Kongsberg, Shell, DNV, and Liverpool John Moores University—is working with British shipyards to redevelop UK shipbuilding capability. The project positions the UK as a pioneer in integrating large-scale battery systems on dynamically positioned vessels, a technology that could reshape how offshore energy infrastructure is serviced.
View original technical description
The market for OSW (Off-Shore Wind) support vessels is growing rapidly, with between 62-149 vessels required in UK Waters by 2030. However, even best-in-class vessels currently use fossil fuel and might do so throughout their entire life costing over £17.5m in damage to the environment. All the UK-operating SOV have been built abroad. Bibby Marine (BML), alongside partners Kongsberg, Shell, DNV, Liverpool JohnMoores University (LJMU), the Port of Aberdeen (PoA) and ORE Catapult, is leading a project to build the first electric SOV (eSOV). This 90m electric vessel, would operate completely emission-free in-field and would feature a sizable battery unlike any installed on a DP vessel before, with dual-fuel methanol-powered engines as back-ups. SOV's service the wind farm industry, supporting the maintenance operations of offshore wind farms (OWF). Battery power is the natural solution for an SOV operating in an OWF - , essentially a giant power plant. The ship will be ready for offshore charging, which will give it the ability to operate fully electric, before recharging at night, therefore completing up to a full two-week cycle of in-field operations, emissions-free. For long transits, the engines will be in use and will still have a 90% reduction in emissions compared to a conventional vessel, saving the taxpayer approximately £787,500py in damage to the environment compared to a conventional SOV. The near shore operations of this vessel will be completed under battery-power only, which also reduces the impact of emissions on public health. This project uses developing technology in order operate emission-free, but we are using equipment that has already been proven in action, integrating them all together and at a scale never reached before. If offshore charging is not available,the vessel will be able to use its methanol engines to recharge the batteries,reducing emissions by 50% compared to a conventional SOV. We believe the project will also break the stalemate between the vessel and infrastructure technology, kicking off the demand for zero-emission vessels. We have a strong consortium of high-quality industry stakeholders, and we are committed to promote and re-develop British shipbuilding. We will be working alongside British shipyards and the NSO to maximise the benefits such a landmark ship will have on the industry. This project will position the UK as a pioneer in the sector and showcase UK leadership in the design and integration of battery-powered vessels.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know