Supplier of purpose-design crew transfer vessels for the offshore wind industry, Tidal Transit, has begun the design and engineering phase of a groundbreaking project to deliver the world’s first retrofit electric crew transfer vessel (E-CTV).
The initiative benefits from £6.3m funding from the Zero Emissions Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition, which opened in February 2023 as part of Innovate UK and the Department of Transport’s strategic plan to develop, deploy and operate clean maritime solutions. Just ten flagship UK projects were chosen to split more than £80m in funding, with the aim of unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.
Over the next 15 months, Tidal Transit will retrofit a diesel-powered Mercurio 20m vessel, Ginny Louise, with over two megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery capacity, electric motors and propulsion pods. The finished product, e-Ginny, will not only be 100% zero emissions in operation, but also boast increased manoeuvrability while being near-silent for passengers and passers-by.
As existing shoreside charging capabilities are severely limited, the project will expand vessel charging infrastructure by installing both an onshore charging station from Artemis Technologies, and an offshore wind turbine based-charger from MJR Power & Automation to allow for direct E-CTV charging on location, greatly increasing the time and range that electric vessels can stay in operation without returning to port.
The e-Ginny project is being undertaken in partnership with Goodchild Marine Services, Artemis Technologies and MJR Power & Automation. Key equipment suppliers also include Volvo Penta, Danfoss and the battery system from Corvus Energy. Upon completion, the E-CTV will be begin service on a UK windfarm for a period of 3 years.
Leo Hambro, commercial director of Tidal Transit, commented: “This project is a significant step forward in propelling the offshore transport industry into a new zero-carbon era. As a Norfolk based company, we’re delighted to be working locally with our project partner Goodchild Marine and, alongside our other incredible design and engineering partners operating nationwide, continuing to lead the way in sustainable and decarbonised offshore transport.”
For more information:
Tidal Transit | LinkedIn
Notes to Editors
About ZEVI
The Mercurio E-CTV retrofit project is part of the Zero Emissions Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI), which was announced in February 2023, funded by UK Government and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of ZEVI, the Department for Transport allocated over £80m to 10 flagship projects supported by 52 organisations from across the UK to deliver real world demonstration R&D projects in clean maritime solutions. Projects will take place in multiple locations from the Orkney Isles to the south west of England.
ZEVI is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emission’s (UK SHORE), focused on clean maritime technologies that can be scaled rapidly to decarbonise the UK’s domestic maritime sector. In March 2022, the Department announced the biggest government investment ever in the UK commercial maritime sector, allocating £206m to UK SHORE, a new division within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions throughout 2022-2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.
About Tidal Transit
Tidal Transit’s fleet of purpose built offshore wind crew transfer vessels have worked consistently since 2011 on windfarms around the UK and overseas. Based from North Norfolk, Tidal Transit is well located to provide services across Europe as well as locally within the East of England. The fleet provides for offshore transit and transfer for twelve passengers and up to four crew. The fleet also includes vessels that can accommodate up to twelve passengers with comfortable beds, bathrooms, galley, internet access and entertainment facilities, allowing wind farm engineers and support technicians to live and work offshore for several days at a time.
About Danfoss
Danfoss deliver the essential parts of the full electric power management and propulsion system, which distributes energy from the on-board battery package into the Volvo Penta IPS thrusters and other on-board consumers.
The full electric energy distribution and propulsion system is based on a redundant common DC distributed system for space and weight optimization, operational efficiency and robustness.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Prova Public Relations
01926 776900 | ryanw@provapr.co.uk
