German offshore wind developer RWE and maritime support provider Acta Marine have signed a long-term vessel supply agreement which they say will pave the way for the decarbonisation of offshore wind farm operations.

According to the companies, the agreement is to build and operate two ‘green’ service operation vessels (SOVs), which will be among the first in the world to be built with the capability of being powered by methanol and batteries, with the potential to save up to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.