Van Oord fallpipe vessel powered by biofuel cuts emissions by 26%

The Netherlands-headquartered Van Oord has taken a step seen as a milestone in its decarbonization efforts with the first delivery of biofuel for its 2011-built flexible fallpipe vessel.

The biofuel delivered for the Stornes flexible fallpipe vessel in Norway is a B30 blend, consisting of 30% hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), renewable diesel produced from waste materials, primarily used cooking oil, and 70% marine gasoil (MGO).

According to Van Oord, this blend has already resulted in a 26% reduction in CO2e emissions.

“The successful deployment of biofuel underscores our commitment to lowering our impact on climate change by reducing our emissions and becoming net-zero. The delivery also marks our first biofuel supply in Norway, expanding our potential locations for more sustainable fuel use,” Van Oord said.

The 175-meter-long DP Class 2 vessel has a loading capacity of approximately 25,500 tonnes and is capable of performing installation at up to 900 meters of depth, expandable to 1,500 meters. It offers accommodation for 51 persons.

In terms of recent news coming from Van Oord, it is worth noting that in April the company held the christening ceremony for its fifth unmanned autonomous survey vessel (USV), developed jointly with DEMCON Unmanned Systems.

This larger vessel is an evolution of four other USVs, building upon the same hardware and software USV platform system and expanding with new technologies and more functionalities for offshore operations.