Engineering consultancy and ship design experts Longitude Engineering have been selected to support a consortium led by vessel owner and operator Bibby Marine for the design of the world’s first zero-emission electric Service Operation Vessel (eSOV), which will operate in the UK and European offshore renewables markets.
The vessel project has recently been awarded £20 million in UK government funding under the Zero Emission Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition. The ZEVI project aims to accelerate the development of clean maritime solutions, and specifically of battery electric vessels and charging infrastructure.
Having developed the concept for the consortium, Longitude Engineering are developing the design to Approval in Principle level for verification of the energy storage system and methanol system philosophy. This phase also includes design development and support for shipyard pricing.
The eSOV is based on Longitude Engineering’s OSD-IMT9605 design. The vessel will be powered by a hybrid 20MWh battery system and dual-fuel methanol generators for back-up and offshore charging capability.
The vessel will provide ultra-low emission support to offshore construction, operations and maintenance activities in the offshore renewables sector in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, in particular supporting Europe’s growing offshore wind market.
Longitude Engineering will apply a multi-disciplined engineering and marine consultancy team to work on this project, including naval architects, master mariners, elect
rical engineers, specialists in methanol and energy storage solutions, structural engineering, hydrodynamics, marine engineering and more.
Longitude Engineering has specialised vessel design expertise with a track-record of over 100 vessels constructed to its designs across a range of marine sectors. The company’s expertise was enhanced in 2021 through the acquisition of ship design bureau OSD-IMT. The company is part of Oslo-listed, global energy and marine consultancy group ABL Group ASA.
The consortium behind the eSOV is made up of Port of Aberdeen, ORE Catapult, Kongsberg, DNV, Shell and Liverpool John Moores University, as well as Bibby Marine
