Aberdeen-based North Star Renewables said it will be ordering the world’s first hybrid daughter craft vessels to service the offshore wind energy sector in 2022 and 2023.

The contracts will be awarded to a UK shipyard in September. The vessels have been designed and developed in collaboration with Southampton-based naval architects, Chartwell Marine. The initial contract for two hybrid vessels will be built to complement North Star’s service offshore vessel (SOV) fleet.

Daughter crafts are used by the offshore wind industry to transfer technicians between the in-field SOV, where they live while working offshore, to the wind turbines to undertake routine or remedial maintenance. They are also used to supporting trips to shore and making deliveries in-field.

The design introduces hybrid propulsion into the daughter craft market for the first time, whilst setting a new standard for safe operations with increased sea state operability at wave heights of up to 1.7 m. The vessel also carries green technologies to reduce carbon emissions, configured for further improvements in green technologies as the sector evolves.

Andrew Duncan, North Star Renewables renewables director, said: “Our relationship and collaboration with Chartwell Marine has ensured that we are bringing a transformational daughter craft design to the industry, using the latest available technologies to increase safety, performance, reliability, comfort and reduce emissions.

“This is an exciting period for our business, as we continue on this journey with Chartwell Marine towards becoming the first SOV operator in the world with a fleet of hybrid daughter craft built right here in the UK.”