Solstad Offshore, DeepOcean and Østensjø team up in remote operations venture
Solstad Offshore, DeepOcean Group and Østensjø Group have joined forces to fast-track the adoption of remotely managed services in order to drive down operating costs and emissions for the marine and offshore industries, according to Solstad's release.
The three partners have established two joint ventures (JVs) to support the remote operations drive. One of the JVs, named Remota AS, will own and operate advanced onshore Remote Operations Centers, while the other JV will develop, own and operate unmanned surface vehicles (USVs).
The new partnership aims to challenge the offshore energy industry needs in terms of efficiency and enables a sustainable green energy transition. The first Remote Operations Center is fully operational, and with the addition of USVs the partnership has big advantages both on the cost and emissions side.
The three partners will each own 33.33 percent in the two JVs that will own and operate the Remote Operations Centers and the USVs.
The JV that owns the Remote Operations Center is called Remota AS and will be led by Sveinung Soma.
Remota will offer remote operations and semi-autonomous maritime services to existing vessels, remote operations of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and USVs. In addition, the company’s first Remote Operations Center will function as a control center for drone technologies.
Today the center operates DeepOcean’s ROVs from Haugesund, Norway, and has been in operation since 2019. The Remote Operations Center has already remotely managed a significant amount of ROV operations in European waters, supporting clients with subsea installations in addition toinspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) campaigns.
The center will operate independently of its three owners and offer its services to all operators, vessel owners and service companies worldwide. The center will initially offer its services to offshore shipping companies and ROV-operators but aims to expand its service offering to other industries as well.
In addition to the Remote Operations Center, the three companies will establish USV AS, a separate company for investing in USVs equipped with an WROV (Work-Class ROV) onboard. This type of vessel is capable of considerably reducing operating expenses compared to conventional vessels that are utilized for subsea inspection, maintenance and repair work.
The concept of unmanned vessels contributes to all aspects of sustainable maritime operations and can be one way of fast-tracking the green transition within the industry. By enabling more efficient operations, slower sailing speeds and significantly reduced operating costs, it is not only sustainable in terms of reduced environmental footprint, but also in economic and social terms.
The USV technology has been developed by JV-partner DeepOcean, and the two other partners have been involved in the final stage of the development. It is estimated that the USV solution can reduce CO2-emissions by more than 90 percent compared to a conventional offshore vessel when conducting subsea operations.
Solstad Offshore is an operator of high-end offshore vessels across segments offering maritime excellence to the global offshore energy markets. The company’s vision is to deliver industry-leading sustainable operations.
Solstad Offshore employs approximately 3,600 highly skilled people spread between 50 nationalities located on our 9 offices and around 90 vessels operating globally.
Remota will develop and offer remote operations and semi-autonomous maritime services to existing vessels and remote operations of ROVs and USVs. In addition, the company’s remote operations center will function as a control center for remote services for various marine applications, above and below the waterline.
DeepOcean is an ocean services provider, enabling energy transition and sustainable use of ocean resources, offering survey, engineering, project management, installation, maintenance, and recycling services for oil and gas, offshore renewables, deep sea minerals, and other ocean services.
Østensjø is a provider of integrated offshore services. The privately owned group owns and operates vessels within offshore wind, towage services, offshore oil and gas and offshore accommodation. Østensjø is an international company, headquartered in Haugesund.
The group also provides crewing services to offshore shipping companies through Mercator Crewing and zero emission technology based on LOHC through Hydrogenious LOHC Maritime AS.