Vessel Operators in Digitalization Push to Meet Offshore Wind Ambitions

Across Europe and, increasingly, Asia-Pacific, offshore wind project owners focused on maximizing the availability and therefore profitability of their assets are mandating for advanced remote monitoring and reporting technologies across both their direct operations via their operations and maintenance providers, but also their operator’s support fleet. As these mature project owners begin to establish interests Stateside, it is clear that digitalized O&M will be a requirement of firms looking to determine their place in the burgeoning US offshore support market, too.

Fortunately, many firms working across the US workboat and commercial vessel sector are already beginning to invest in cost-effective monitoring platforms that are integrated into their existing vessel systems. Harbor tug, ferry, and pilot boat operators in particular are looking to these systems to cut downtime via real time data-informed planned maintenance across their varied fleets, allowing them to guarantee a continued high quality of service to existing clients.Chris Huxley Reynard, Managing Director, BareFLEET, said: “Forward thinking commercial vessel operators are already working to secure their place in the US offshore market, but to become sector leaders they must be able to capitalize on what we already know from firms operating globally: that a willingness to be transparent with vessel health, performance, and safety data is critical to winning contracts.

“In order to prepare for entry to this emerging market, we have begun working with a number of commercial vessel operators to deploy the BareFLEET monitoring and reporting system across their diverse vessels and onboard systems. As BareFLEET is technology agnostic, it can be integrated into each vessel firm’s preferred fleet and business management system, preventative maintenance system, and supplementary data analysis platform. This reduces administrative workload ahead of the businesses scaling up.”

The BareFLEET system monitors vessel health, navigational and performance data from across any vessel or critical equipment type. As well as informing accurate daily reporting and baseline comparisons, it provides the data for a ‘deep dive’ into values such as motion, fuel use, and engine health in order to inform operational improvements where relevant.

Chris continued: “Over the past few years, BareFLEET has been mandated by a number of global offshore wind project owners as the ‘must have’ system for their contractors. We have worked hard to ensure that this does not present a challenge for operators, but is instead an opportunity for them to achieve goals such as environmental compliance, optimized crew comfort, and reduced emissions and fuel use – all while freeing up the time and resource for the crew and O&M team to do what they do best – guarantee excellent, consistent service to their customers.”