German energy group RWE AG (ETR:RWE) has signed a 12-year vessel supply agreement with Dutch-based maritime support provider Acta Marine for two newbuild “green” service operation vessels (SOVs), the firms said on Wednesday.
The vessels, which will be one of the first with the capability of running on methanol and batteries, will contribute to decarbonising the operation of RWE’s offshore wind farms in the North Sea.
Acta Marine will start building the SOVs at Tersan Shipyards in Turkey in the second quarter of 2023. They are scheduled to be deployed at the UK’s Port of Grimsby in early 2025 and 2026 to support the operations and maintenance of RWE’s newly operational 857-MW Triton Knoll wind farm and the under-construction Sofia project of 1.4 GW.
The SX216 newbuild vessels designed by Ulstein Design and Solutions will be ready to use methanol from day one, the companies explained.
