Industry momentum builds to unlock offshore charging

IMAGE: Bibby Marine

Two industry developments this week highlight growing momentum to enable offshore charging of zero-emission vessels – combining a clear call for policy clarity with concrete technical solutions.

The Offshore Charging Working Group, a broad coalition across the offshore wind and maritime value chain, is calling for a clear and workable framework to enable charging of electric service operation vessels (SOVs) and crew transfer vessels (CTVs) offshore. The group was established following a joint workshop on unlocking offshore charging, co-hosted by Maritime CleanTech in Newcastle in October.

The working group has engaged with The Crown Estate, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC), highlighting the need for early design allowance and clarity on access to offshore power. While industry readiness to deploy zero-emission vessels is growing, commercial and regulatory clarity remains a key barrier.

Releasing Whitepaper

At the same time, the Norwegian Electrotechnical Committee (NEK), in collaboration with Maritime CleanTech, Stillstrom and Kongsberg Maritime – with support from Ocean Charger consortium partners VARD Electro and Seaonics – has launched a new whitepaper on High Voltage Offshore Connection (HVOC) solutions. The document outlines how standardised high-voltage connections can enable safe, efficient and interoperable power supply from onshore or offshore infrastructure to vessels such as SOVs and CSOVs.

Together, these initiatives underline a shared industry message: the technology to electrify offshore service operations is advancing rapidly, but deployment depends on alignment between technical solutions, project design and policy frameworks.

The HVOC whitepaper is available for free download and will be officially launched at NEK’s maritime conference on 3 February 2026. The Offshore Charging Working Group will publish a more detailed proposition paper outlining practical policy enablers for offshore charging shortly.

Download HVOC whitepaper here.