Battery-powered support craft was upgraded at Amelia

An offshore support vessel was recently upgraded at Bollinger Shipyard in Amelia to become the first such hybrid lithium battery-powered vessel to operate in the Gulf of Mexico, a news release said.
The upgrade took place at Bollinger’s Amelia shipyard. Sea trials of the vessel were conducted in mid-May.
SEACOR Marine, which has its U.S. headquarters in Houma, recently completed the installation of the first hybrid power solution on an offshore support vessel in the Gulf of Mexico following the upgrade of the SEACOR Maya offshore support vessel to hybrid lithium battery power propulsion, a SEACOR release said.
SEACOR Marine contracted with the American Bureau of Shipping, a leading global provider of classification and technical advisory services to the marine and offshore industries, in March to class the SEACOR Maya as the first offshore support vessel in the Gulf of Mexico to operate using hybrid power.
After a series of successful sea and failure mode effect analysis trials, the SEACOR Maya was issued its Interim Class Certificate from the American Bureau of Shipping with additional notation BATTERY-Li, the bureau’s first ever offshore support vessel to have this notation. SEACOR Maya is operated by Mantenimiento Express Maritimo, S.A.P.I. de C.V., known as MexMar, which is SEACOR Marine’s joint venture in Mexico.
“The successful installation of a hybrid power solution along with the first ever ABS OSV BATTERY-Li notation is a big milestone for our company,” SEACOR Marine’s CEO John Gellert said in the release.
“We have long believed that cutting edge hybrid power technology has the potential to improve vessel efficiency, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 20 percent. Early indications from sea trials of SEACOR Maya put us well within reach of this target and validates the success of our investment,” Gellert said.
Following the vessel’s successful modification to hybrid lithium battery power propulsion, the bureau provided the additional BATTERY-Li notation for the SEACOR Maya in May. SEACOR Marine has also engaged the bureau to provide the additional BATTERY-Li notation on three additional offshore support vessels operated by MexMar, including SEACOR Azteca, SEACOR Warrior and SEACOR Viking.
The vessels are expected to be upgraded to a similar battery system as SEACOR Maya with the upgrade expected to be completed by September. SEACOR Marine will also install the technology onboard six vessels under construction at COSCO shipyard in Guangdong. The first two vessels are due for delivery by the end of 2018, with the remaining vessels set for delivery in 2020, the release stated.
The lithium-ion-based Orca Energy Storage Systems for all four vessels in the Gulf of Mexico was supplied by Corvus Energy. Kongsberg Maritime designed the supply and integration of the hybrid power into the vessel’s control, power monitoring, and dynamic positioning systems. Corvus and Kongsberg are contracted for the remaining three vessels operated by MexMar as well.
“The new hybrid lithium battery system will also help us improve safety, drive energy efficiencies and reduce our overall environmental impact,” Gellert said.
“As governments tighten emissions standards, this technology will be a key competitive differentiator, leaving us well placed to take advantage of an upturn in the market.”