Surface drone sails into Hurricane Sam, $750M contract, Salem Offshore Wind Port

It’s Good News Monday!

This Monday:

1. Drone Sails Into Hurricane Sam and Lives to Tell The Tale… Here’s Video to Prove It

2. Van Oord Orders WTIV for 20MW Offshore Wind Turbines

3. Subsea 7 wins subsea contract worth at least US$750M

4. Vineyard Wind and Crowley to Turn Historic New England Harbor Into Offshore Wind Port

5. To move energy efficiency forward, look astern

Drone Sails Into Hurricane Sam and Lives to Tell The Tale… Here’s Video to Prove It

Left: Hurricane Sam with Saildrone location on the map; Right: Saildrone footage from inside the hurricane. “Image courtesy Saildrone”. Image from gCaptain.

The first video of an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) inside a major hurricane has been released by Saildrone and NOAA. The footage comes from the inside of hurricane Sam where the drone was collecting scientific data in 120+ mph winds and 50 foot waves. SD 1045 has a special hurricane wing to operate in these conditions, and is one of five ‘hurricane’ Saildrones deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. “‘Using data collected by Saildrones, we expect to improve forecast models that predict rapid intensification of hurricanes,’ said Greg Foltz, a NOAA scientist. ‘Rapid intensification, when hurricane winds strengthen in a matter of hours, is a serious threat to coastal communities. New data from Saildrones and other uncrewed systems that NOAA is using will help us better predict the forces that drive hurricanes and be able to warn communities earlier.’” Check out the video from inside the storm below:

Van Oord Orders WTIV for 20MW Offshore Wind Turbines

Wind Turbine Installation Vessel (WTIV) and turbine size, relative to the Eiffel Tower.“Credit: Van Oord”. Image from Offshore Engineer.

Van Oord has ordered a new wind turbine installation vessel capable of installing wind turbines up to 20MW. The ship is going to be built by Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard in China and is expected to be on the market by 2024, with the option for a second. The jack-up vessel will operate on methanol and help fulfill the 2000GW of offshore wind energy estimated to be built by 2050. World Energy Reports has stated over 100 new vessels will be needed for installations, with the current fleet becoming obsolete by 2025 due to the larger size of new turbines. It will feature a Huisman crane with 3,000 ton lifting capacity and four legs for working in waters 70 meters deep. In addition to running on methanol, the WTIV will feature a 5,000 kWh battery pack to reduce peak loads and energy consumption.

Subsea 7 wins subsea contract worth at least US$750M

“Subsea 7 has secured a 'major' contract (Source: Subsea 7)”. Image from Riviera.

Subsea 7 has extended the scope of a contract from March 2021 that they describe as a ‘major’ contract, but have not yet released details. “The scope of work on the new award includes the provision and installation of infield flowlines, control umbilicals, tie-in connections, associated subsea equipment, a gas export pipeline and a monoethylene glycol injection pipeline.” Project management and engineering has already started on the new $750M project.

Vineyard Wind and Crowley to Turn Historic New England Harbor Into Offshore Wind Port

“An illustration of the [offshore] wind port in Salem, Massachusetts. Credit: Vineyard Wind”. Image from gCaptain.

Vineyard Wind, Salem MA, and Crowley Maritime Corporation are creating a public-private partnership (P3) to make Salem Harbor a major offshore wind port. The project is estimated to create 400 full-time jobs for the build out and 500 full-time jobs after completion. Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are building Vineyard Wind 1 and Park City Wind off the coast of Massachusetts at a total of about 1604 MW. As of recently, two additional projects totaling up to 2000 MW are planned to move forward, known as Commonwealth Wind. The Salem port will be the second wind port after New Bedford, MA. The new site will be used for assembly, storage and offloading, all made easier by the deep water harbor and unrestricted height limits.

To move energy efficiency forward, look astern

“BMS, acquired by Nakashima Propeller, offers the Becker Performance Package, combining the benefits of the Becker Mewis Duct and Beker Rudder (source: BMS)”. Image from Riviera.

Emissions reduction regulations are getting stricter with IMO calling for a 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050. “The technical approach to meeting these targets is the Energy Efficiency Index for Existing Ships (EEXI) and the operational approach is Carbon Intensity Indicators (CII).” A poll by Riviera shows many owners are not yet ready for these regulations. Nakashima Propeller and Fluid Techno provide a diagnosis report to help ship owners get up to new standards. Solutions like changes to propellers and rudders can have a significant impact on the fuel consumption of a large vessel. The propeller boss cap fin (PBCF) from MOL Techno-Trade seen below can improve efficiency up to 5% and when used in a rudder PBCF combination increased horsepower 5.7% in a Panamax car carrier.

“MOL Techno-Trade’s propeller boss cap fin can yield fuel savings up to 5% (source: MOL)”. Image from Riviera.

Check out more about the fuel savings measures in the original article.

OneStep Power also has proprietary technology that can increase efficiency and lower fuel costs up to 16% by running in closed bus. Check out our technology on our Services page or give us a call.

Smile, it’s Good News Monday! :-)