Aker BP and Eidesvik are to carry out a joint technology project that seeks to reduce existing supply vessel emissions by at least 70%.
Aker BP says it will work alongside Eidesvik, Solstad Offshore and Simon Møkster Shipping to install batteries on three offshore supply vessels that currently operate on long-term contracts with the company.
Viking Lady, Eidesvik’s own platform supply vessel (PSV), will benefit from a battery upgrade, alongside another of the company’s vessels, Viking Prince, which is currently carrying out operations for Aker BP. Upon completion of the Viking Prince battery upgrade, currently scheduled for 2022, all but one of Eidesvik’s 12 vessels will feature hybrid battery technology.
Looking to the future, the pair is to establish a project called Retrofit, in which various solutions will be evaluated to convert and fit existing supply vessels with low-emission alternative propulsion systems.
“New-buildings are often presented as the only solution to making the shipping industry greener and more sustainable. However, at Eidesvik we’re equally focused on the great potential for significantly reducing emissions from the existing fleet,” commented Jan Fredrik Meling, CEO of Eidesvik.”
Meling continued, “From a climate and sustainability perspective, recycling old ships and building new ones requires a lot of energy that could otherwise be saved, not to mention the huge investment needed for new-buildings. As a shipowner, we believe we can achieve increasingly large emissions reductions as well as save capex by prolonging the lifetime of existing vessels with new green technologies.”
The main goal of the Retrofit project is to reduce the selected vessels’ emissions by 70% or more to make them as environmentally friendly as another of Eidesvik’s vessels, Viking Energy. In 2024, Viking Energy will be fitted with an ammonia fuel cell as part of the European ShipFC project.
“Having Aker BP on board in the Retrofit project is a big vote of confidence in what we’ve been doing. For me it is a clear indication that they view us as a competent and innovative partner within low-emission technologies in this vessel segment,” said Meling.