Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

North Star hails multimillion-pound vessels for wind sector as a world-first

north star shipping
North Star renewables director Andrew Duncan

Shipping company North Star Group, of Aberdeen, is claiming a global first after drawing up a “multimillion-pound” contract for two new vessels to service the offshore wind energy industry.

The project involves North Star’s renewables arm and is expected to deliver the world’s first “hybrid daughter craft”, aimed at feeding likely growing demand for boats to ferry technicians and supplies between wind farm “mother” ships (service offshore vessels, or SOVs), turbines and shore.

north star shipping
North Star Renewables’ “world-first” hybrid daughter craft for the offshore wind industry.

North Star said its new vessels, using green technologies and a “game-changing” design developed in partnership with Southampton-based naval architects Chartwell Marine, would be built under an “initial” contract to be awarded to a UK shipyard in September.

Expected to be ready for delivery in 2022 and 2023, they have been designed specifically with the offshore wind industry in mind. But they will also be used to provide essential emergency safety and rescue cover for the wider North Sea energy industry.

North Star Renewables director Andrew Duncan said: “The UK has the world’s largest offshore wind market, backed by an experienced and innovative supply chain.

‘Transformational’

“Our relationship and collaboration with Chartwell Marine has ensured we are bringing a transformational daughter craft design to the industry, using the latest available technologies to increase safety, performance, reliability, comfort and reduce emissions.”

He added: “This is an exciting period for our business, as we continue on this journey with Chartwell Marine towards becoming the first SOV operator in the world with a fleet of hybrid daughter craft built right here in the UK.”

North Star said the new design was introducing hybrid propulsion – combining combustion engines with battery power – into the daughter craft market for the first time.

Working with North Star, we have been able to develop an effective hybrid vessel that will live up to the demands of offshore wind operations.”

Andy Page, Chartwell Marine

It also sets a “new standard for safe operations”, with an increased sea state operability at wave heights 33% higher than anything else currently available, the company added.

Chartwell Marine managing director Andy Page said: “We’re pleased to progress the next stages of the daughter craft design with North Star.

“The design builds on learnings from our low emission research and development project, funded by the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator. Working with North Star, we have been able to develop an effective hybrid vessel that will live up to the demands of offshore wind operations.


North Star to expand workforce after bagging £270m offshore wind contract

Aberdeen group North Star awards contracts for Dogger Bank wind farm vessels to Vard


“Above all, we aim to furnish the sector with vessel designs that are safe, cost-effective, and sustainable in equal measure – making the most of advances in propulsion technology, but also preserving the key ingredients that constitute effective performance for offshore wind developers and operators.”

North Star Group employs around 1,400 people across UK operations in locations including Aberdeen, Newcastle and Lowestoft.

The company boasts the world’s largest “daughter” rescue fleet, with 63 vessels on its books, as well as the largest wholly-owned UK-based fleet providing infrastructure support to the offshore energy industry. It currently services more than 60 locations and mobile installations in the North Sea.