KNOT’s shuttle tankers to feature battery technology

Two new shuttle tankers being built for Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers (KNOT) at South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will be fitted with battery technology to gain fuel efficiency and cut emissions.

Namely, DSME has inked a deal with ABB Marine & Ports to deliver the power and control technology for the two new KNOT shuttle tankers.

The tankers will also feature energy storage systems at the request of the exploration and production company Vår Energi that has contracted KNOT to operate the shuttle tankers. 

Vår Energi is owned by the integrated energy company Eni (69.6 percent) and the Norway based leading private equity investor HitecVision (30.4 percent).

The ABB twin battery package on board each Knutsen ship will have a storage capacity of 678kWh.

ABB’s scope of supply will also include the shaft generator system, main switchboards, thruster and cargo pump drive systems, and take care of project management, commissioning​​​​​​​ and sea trials.

“We have been fully aware of charterers’ increased requirement for sustainability, so it was very important that our first commitment to battery power involved a supplier with a track record of delivering quality, safety and reliability to Knutsen, as well as service and remote expert support,” said Tom Knutsen, Project manager at KNOT. 

The 124,000-tonne tankers were ordered in February this year. As disclosed at the time, they will feature Dynamic Positioning Systems, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Recovery Systems, and will be fulled by LNG.

Vår Energi already uses an LNG-powered offshore supply vessel for the Goliat operations in the Barents Sea. The switch to LNG-fuelled tankers is in line with Vår Energi’s commitment to minimize its environmental footprint.

Each vessel will be able to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent compared to conventional oil-fuelled shuttle tankers, KNOT said.

Built to endure harsh Arctic waters, the pair of 124,000 dwt tankers are set to be delivered in 2022. The newbuild vessels will operate in the North Sea.