Eidesvik Offshore’s VP Sustainability, Marie Launes, has said that despite a clear preference for green methanol, sourcing the fuel for the company’s new dual-fuel construction support vessel (CSV) could be challenging.
As previously reported by Bunkerspot, Norway-based Eidesvik Offshore and Agalas announced last year that they were joining forces to build the vessel, which is being built at the Sefine Shipyard in Turkey.
The vessel, which will be owned by an entity to be called Eidsvik Agalas AS, with Eidesvik retaining a majority stake of 50.1% and the remaining shares owned by Northern Norway shipowners Agalas, is scheduled for delivery in early 2026. It will enter into a 5-year time charter with Reach Subsea.
Asked about fuel supply, Launes told journalists at a press event in Oslo last week that the company did not have any green methanol offtake agreements in place.
‘We recognise this as a challenge, especially,’ said Launes. ‘We see that for the climate footprint, to go on grey methanol will maybe achieve 7-10% reductions – that’s not what we really want.
‘If you get green, you can achieve carbon neutrality but the availability of green methanol is very poor at the moment, so this is just still a work in progress.’
While full management of the vessel, including crewing, will be provided by Eidesvik, Launes highlighted that any decision on bunkers would ultimately be outside of its control.
‘In the offshore industry, it is the client that provides for and pays for the fuel, so it also very much depends on the ambition of the client as well,’ said Launes.
Asked about the decision to order a methanol-fuelled vessel despite a lack of clarity about green methanol supply, Launes said flexibility was key.
‘You have dual-fuel engines that can run on methanol and they can run on MGO [marine gasoil].
‘Of course, we get a lot of calls and contacts from suppliers that say they can provide us with [methanol] but also it will very much depend on where we operate in the world which we do not know yet. That’s up to the client that charters the vessel.
‘We’ve made a platform that’s able to deliver emission reductions but then there’s factors outside our control as to how much we will achieve,’ Launes said.
