Volstad Maritime selects NES for Grand Canyon II vessel upgrade 

Volstad Maritime has hired Norwegian Electric Systems AS (NES), a subsidiary of HAV Group, to deliver the battery pack and associated control system for battery charging for its Grand Canyon II offshore construction vessel.  

NES said it will provide the equipment to the Grand Canyon II related to vessel upgrade in 2023 and it will manage the project from its headquarters in Bergen, Norway. The equipment supplier has not disclosed the value of the contract.  

In November 2022, Volstad Maritime appointed NES to equip the sister vessel Grand Canyon III with an identical battery pack and control system. 

Egil Bremnes, sales manager at NES, said: “The vessel upgrade for Grand Canyon II will be a carbon copy of what we will deliver and install on board the Grand Canyon III. Managing identical deliveries for two sister vessels, more or less in parallel, will allow the yard, shipowner and us to capitalise on learnings and production benefits that can enable reduced project execution risk, time and cost.” 

According to NES, the battery pack on board the Grand Canyon II will be installed in a container below the deck, which can be a more cost-efficient solution than building a dedicated battery room. The company also pointed out that delivering the battery system in a container allows it to conduct extensive testing of the equipment prior to deliver and the yard stay to be shortened correspondingly. 

The Grand Canyon II is a 127.5 long and 25 metres wide offshore construction vessel and, like its sister vessel, is equipped with a 250 MT AHC subsea crane, moonpool, integrated ROV deck space and removable bulwarks. The vessel is currently on a firm charter with Helix Energy Solutions until 2027.   

Earlier this year, NES has secured a contract to deliver the battery package and associated control system for battery charging to Volstad Maritime’s subsea construction vessel M/S Volantis.