The new BARTech 30 vessels – Seacat Columbia and Seacat Cambria - will work in tandem with Seacat’s existing OESVs. Build and construction of the first vessel is expected to be completed by Q1 2022. The vessels will be among the first true ‘Low Emission Vehicles’ (LEVs) servicing the offshore wind market, with total emissions 30 percent lower than conventional CTV designs.
Cutting emissions is one of the biggest challenges facing the offshore wind and broader maritime sector amid rising global awareness of its environmental impact. Naval architects BAR Technologies and Chartwell Marine have focused instead on creating fuel efficiency through a highly optimised multi-hull design, working alongside BAR Technologies’ patented Foil Optimised Stability System (FOSS). Ultimately, this will cut CO2 emissions by up to 600 tonnes per annum if working on a 12 hour shift of operation.
Crucially for Seacat, these improvements come at no sacrifice to operational performance – with FOSS, the vessel’s ability to reduce pitch and roll while lowering vertical acceleration in 2.5 metre wave heights enabling greater comfort during transit and improved push on performance during operations. This is of growing importance as offshore wind farms move further out to sea, requiring vessels to travel further for longer while navigating more challenging conditions.
“After reviewing the latest options on the market, the BARTech 30 is the first one that has met and exceeded all of our requirements, embracing efficiency gains through design, instead of relying exclusively on hybrid propulsion” said Ian Baylis, Managing Director, Seacat Services. “Adding this vessel to our existing fleet of OESVs is a simple, effective way to get ahead on emissions reduction without interrupting our current work scope.”
John Cooper, CEO at BAR Technologies, added that innovative vessel design and technologies are vital to supporting the offshore wind and maritime sectors and that Seacat has a long history of setting the benchmark for operational best practice.
The BARTech 30 design has recently been awarded approval in principle (AiP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), providing another class-certified, Jones Act compliant option for vessel operators looking to enter the US offshore wind space.
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