Liverpool maritime firm Bibby Marine says construction of its zero-emission offshore wind farm support vessel, costing up to £50m, is on schedule to complete in 2027 and is reporting early interest from potential charterers. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool maritime firm Bibby Marine says it expects its new zero-emission offshore wind farm support vessel to be ready for service in 2027.

Costing tens of millions of pounds, and backed by the UK Government, the electric commissioning service operation vessel (eCSOV) will feature a battery system complemented by dual-fuel methanol engines.

A division of Bibby Line Group, one of Liverpool’s oldest family firms, Bibby Marine has led a consortium developing its groundbreaking maintenance vessel for several years. In September 2023 it secured £20m from the Government to support the project.

Although it hasn’t revealed the cost of the eCSOV previous estimates have put the figure at between £40m and £50m. This new vessel is being built by Armon, which is located in Vigo in Spain.

Bibby Marine already operates two vessels supporting the offshore wind and oil and gas sector – Wavemaster Horizon and Wavemaster 1.

They are floating powerhouses that provide support for offshore facilities such as wind farms and gas and oil fields. They carry up to 90 people for weeks at a time and they have huge power needs.

Each vessel generates 6-7 MW of power. In a year both vessels will use enough energy to power 800 homes and 18m miles of car journeys. It adds up to 14,000 tonnes of CO2.

Once in operation Bibby says the eCSOV, which will support offshore installations such as windfarms, will have the capability to operate solely on battery power for a typical full day of operations, the range of the vessel will allow for passage from field to port and return. It wants to build a fleet of them.

In its accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, just published on Companies House, Bibby Marine chief executive Nigel Quinn said it was confident of the “attractive long-term fundamentals of the offshore wind sector and the increasing demand in the sector to reduce carbon emissions”.

READ MORE: Pre-tax profits plummet at Bibby Line Group

He added: “The first steel was cut in January 2025 and the vessel is forecast for delivery in 2027. There is already interest from potential charterers driven by the vessel’s anticipated efficiency, lower exposure to carbon taxes and quiet operations.”

The accounts show a 7% fall in revenues to £34.2m with pre-tax profits also down by £1m to £3.1m. This was mainly down to several 2024 vessel charters reaching their natural conclusion.