NORTH STAR
STEERING THE ENERGY TRANSITION
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NORTH STAR
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STEERING THE ENERGY TRANSITION With five decades of experience supporting the offshore industry, North Star is in prime position to accelerate the shipping sector’s transition to green energy. Chief Technology Officer James Bradford explained how the company is doing exactly that, in an exclusive interview. Report by Imogen Ward.
H
aving worked continuously in the offshore sector since the 1970s, the UK’s leading infrastructure support
vessel operator North Star is no stranger to the marine industry’s journey towards net zero. Now, eager to extend its fleet beyond oil and gas – to offshore wind, the company which employs more than 1,300 crew and onshore personnel from its bases in Aberdeen, Lowestoft, Newcastle and Hamburg – has set itself an ambitious goal. “Our strategy is to add 40 hybrid -electric SOVs to our fleet by 2040,” said Chief Technology Officer James Bradford.
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“And so far, we’ve made a great start
North Sea’s oil boom, it quickly became
with our first two service operation vessels
a highly regarded and respected emer-
delivered ahead of schedule. We’ve
gency response and rescue vessel (ERRV)
received a lot of positive feedback for
operator. The firm has the largest ERRV fleet
the Grampian Tyne and the Grampian
in Europe and provides essential crew
Derwent’s unique and innovative design,
rescue, firefighting, and other emergency
as well as our project management skills,
response services to offshore energy
which is a great position to be in as we aim
operations around the clock, 24/7, 365
to build our business across Europe.”
days a year.
Prior to working in the oil and gas sector,
“ERRVS are a mandatory requirement
the firm was established 135 years ago
for all offshore oil and gas installations,”
to aid the fisheries sector. Seizing on the
Mr Bradford said. “With the changing
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NORTH STAR
I PROFILE
demands of the energy industry driven
comes a realisation that as we move to
by climatic considerations, the opportu-
protect the planet, the need for oil and gas
nity to transition our years of experience
will start to decrease. That’s why we made
garnered in ERRV operations (and proven
a conscious decision to start diversifying the
track record for reliable on-time simulta-
business into offshore wind.
neous newbuild programmes) made our
“But that’s not going to take a matter of
investment in a new ship design for the
weeks; it’s a transition that could take 20
renewable sector an obvious choice.
years to complete.”
“Not only is there an increasing need for energy security across Europe, but with that
Emerging ESG In line with its commitment to the renewables market, North Star has also recently implemented its own ESG strategy. “The research really began in 2019,” Mr Bradford said. “It’s mainly being driven by metrics that have already been successfully applied to deep sea shipping; we are great believers in learning from other shipping categories that have previously been exposed to energy efficiency and decarbonisation regulatory diktat. “As part of our decarbonisation plans, we’ve introduced a carbon intensity index across our fleet, so that we can more accurately measure our emissions. We have also included a commercial metric which is linked to the business’ transition from using fossil fuels to green energy. That metric will indicate how quickly we are making that move. We also have a technology roadmap which identifies the partners who we’ll call on to accommodate the ever-increasing regulations of a transitioning industry.”
Choosing the perfect partner The journey towards a greener fleet needs a well-structured plan and a solid financial backing to execute it. North Star was acquired in 2022 by Partners Group
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C
(a leading global private markets firm), which, along with other investors, has enabled North Star to build its worldclass offshore wind tonnage. The company selected VARD as its shipbuilder and has delivered the first two of four SOVs ahead of schedule for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm for decade-long minimum charters. It also has the first two of up to four Construction SOVs underway with the organisation. “We went through a comprehensive evaluation process that included several ship building yards,” said Mr Bradford. “We put together our specifications which were based upon the project pillars of quality, cost and build time. VARD scored highly within all three areas.
Chief Technology Officer James Bradford
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NORTH STAR
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“We’re really making the most of the
is doing extremely well. From the feedback
amazing technology available at VARD’s
we’ve received, the ship’s performance has
Vietnam and European yards, including
been quite exceptional. Equinor has been an
a huge amount of automation, from steel
amazing support as we brought the vessel
cutting to welding and fabrication. Their
up to full capacity, and we couldn’t be more
technology and our desire to deliver a clean,
delighted with the results.”
energy efficient service to the renewables sector really go hand-in-hand.”
The company is not one to rest on its laurels; the team always has an ear to the ground for new innovation developments. For example,
40 by 2040
the North Star SOVs deploy the Electric Voith
With the first two SOVs delivered, and four
Schneider Propeller (eVSP) from Voith. The two
more underway, the ball is well and truly
eVSPs per vessel are eVSP 26/230 with 1850
rolling for North Star’s ambitions.
kW each, plus an electronic control system.
“The Grampian Tyne was delivered directly
The eVSP has Voith roll stabilisation, a unique
to Equinor for operations and maintenance
feature which allows active roll reduction of
work,” Mr Bradford explained. “She’s been
the vessel, providing a more stable and safe
in service for a couple of months now and
working platform. “There is a saturation of technology within the market that could satisfy people’s needs for the next 10 years, but there’s nothing that is legacy at this time,” Mr Bradford said. “So we’ve configured our designs with high efficiency engines, open technology and energy storage systems – batteries – to afford North Star the time required to evaluate how the technology evolves and finally stabilises as the industry transitions. We have chosen methanol as our chosen future fuel for this transitionary period, which reduces our carbon emissions by 92 per cent. We are also installing energy storage back-up systems.” In the meantime, the company is currently looking at two future fuel options for its ERRVs and is in talks regarding methanol, and HVO diesel supply and fuel blending technology. “HVO would reduce our emissions by 85 per cent if we applied it to all of our ERRVs,”
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Mr Bradford said. “The main barrier for that, though, is the price. Currently HVO is three times more expensive than marine gas oil. In order to move forward, the industry really needs to come together to make it more affordable. The regulatory bodies can’t expect businesses to be financially compromised to go green.” North Star is also looking into drone technology to further aid its support to the offshore wind sector. With so much on the cards, the future for the firm looks bright. “I’m a great believer that if you’re happy with what you do, then you will always excel,” Mr Bradford concluded. “I’ve applied that to my entire life, and it is applicable to North Star as well. There’s an energy within the organisation that is hard to find. The atmosphere is buzzing, and the challenge is always forthcoming, which is great. “What North Star is achieving – along with its technology partners – is something you don’t come across very often. I really believe this company is one in a million, and being a part of this journey is absolutely fantastic.”
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