Green conversion of vessels

Written By Malene Liavaag
Green CSV vessel at offshore wind farm

Fjordtec has assisted in the building of several new zero-emission and hybrid vessels. Undoubtedly, there is a need for more green ships. In 2021, it was reported that Norway is lacking 800 green ships to achieve the climate goals of 2030 (1).

Sustainable green ships needed for reaching 2030 climate goals

Green ships needed for reaching the 2030 climate goals

With a shift in the demand in the maritime markets, less ships are required for the oil and gas sector and more ships are demanded for other areas as for example the wind farming sector. Today, there is approx. 1000 offshore ships in storage. 100 of these are in Norway, and most are built 5-15 years ago. Many of these are suited for a longer serving time (2).

Stored offshore vessels in Norway and world wide

Stored offshore ships

While we in Fjordtec love to assist our customers in building new, greener ships, we must not forget that achieving circular economy also means to give new life to what we already possess. When comparing the emissions of a new built zero-emission SOV to a green converted PSV, the converted ship will have the lowest CO2 emissions and costs in 10 years perspective from now (3). It is expected that even better zero-emission technologies will be available in 10 years’ time. Hence, If we go ten years into the future, and convert the PSV ship again, it may end up with the same or lower carbon footprint than a newbuild throughout its life cycle(2).

There are other benefits for shipowners as well, when converting existing ships. A new build takes 12-24 months before it is ready for operation. An existing vessel takes approximately 3 months to convert (2). Thus, a green converted ship will be ready for use in a shorter time span.

Time needed for converting existing vessels and newbuild

Months needed for building a new ship compared to converting an existing ship

Fjordtec has assisted ship owners and yards in several green conversion projects, ranging from small ferries to big passenger and cruise vessels. Fjordtec is proud to have contributed in making these vessels greener, even significant greener than newbuilt vessels, seen in a total lifecycle perspective. 

With our competence, we make sure that the conversions are safe, redundant and in line with authorities and class regulations.  

 
Malene Liavaag
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