A lot has been happening recently in the sphere of electric charging for shipping. Firstly, Maersk launches the world’s first offshore electric vessel-charging station venture. Maersk Supply Service, a subsidiary of Danish shipping giant Maersk, is launching Stillstrom – an offshore vessel-charging venture to support the decarbonization of the maritime industry by eliminating idle emissions.

Stillstrom will deliver offshore electric charging solutions to vessels at ports, hubs, and offshore energy operations.

Offshore charging for idle vessels is critical to facilitating the decarbonization of the maritime industry, since it allows vessel owners to replace fossil fuels with electricity while moored to a charging buoy. Stillstrom and Danish wind giant Ørsted will demonstrate the world’s first full-scale offshore charging station for vessels at an offshore wind farm in third quarter 2022. Stillstrom’s power buoy will supply overnight power to one of Ørsted’s Service Operations Vessels (SOV). Ørsted will be responsible for the grid integration of the charging buoy.

Ørsted will publicly share the intellectual property generated during the design of the buoy’s integration into the offshore wind farm in order to encourage uptake of the charging buoy in the offshore wind sector. By substituting fossil fuels with clean electricity, virtually all emissions and noise pollution are eliminated while the buoy is in use.

In another ‘worlds first’, renewable engineering specialist Oasis Marine Power has completed the first stage of testing of its offshore charging station for battery-powered ships. The Oasis Power Buoy is said to be the first of its kind in the world to successfully reach sea trials, which took place in the Port of Cromarty Firth during January. It is the first in a series of testing that will include further optimisation and additional sustained sea trials. The company, a subsidiary of marine engineer Jebb Smith of Aberdeenshire, plans to initially install the charging stations at offshore windfarms to allow vessels with battery power systems to recharge while at sea.