General – Offshore Charging
Damen Shipyards Group has developed a new concept for offshore charging said to offer a way to dramatically reduce emissions during the operational phase of an offshore wind farm.
The system envisages a fully electric crew transfer vessel (CTV) which can charge at either a turbine or one of Damen’s commissioning service operations vessels (CSOVs) outfitted with a charger.
One of the limitations of introducing fully electric Crew Transfer Vessels is the lack of charging options for the vessels while on-site at wind farms. While several technologies are being developed for charging buoys or connections to a wind turbine or substation, Damen Shipyards Group points out that the technologies, specifically turbine-mounted chargers, are not yet widely available.
With wind farms moving further offshore, charging will be required to use battery-powered transfer vessels or Commissioning Service Operations Vessels. Damen Shipyards Group developed a design for vessel-to-vessel charging which they believe offers operators a new option to incorporate electric vessels and reduce emissions at their wind farms.
The charging system that Damen has applied to its concept is developed by UK-based MJR, a specialist in offshore charging systems. The CTV would connect via a bell mouth that catches the charger that is lowered from a reel on the aft deck of the CSOV.
