© Supplied by North Star Aberdeen-headquartered vessel operator North Star invested £108.1 million in new offshore wind vessels during 2024, according to its latest ESG report.
The company said that it has contributed a total of £500m of investment into the offshore wind sector since entering the market in 2021.
Offshore wind’s contribution to North Star’s earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) has more than doubled over the past year, contributing around 69% of its business.
According to its ESG strategy, North Star aims to spend £400m as it transitions to operating a net zero fleet by 2045.
In addition, the company has spent £1m on crew training in 2024, helping move its workforce from traditional oil and gas emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRVs) to state-of-the-art service operation vessels (SOVs).
As part of this initiative, 120 cadets have been onboarded into the company.
North Star strategic projects manager and lead on the ESG report Jen Redman said: “Our ESG performance isn’t simply a compliance exercise, it’s integral to how we make decisions. By embedding sustainability into operational decision-making, we’ve cut emissions, improved efficiency and secured major new charters.”
With a fleet of 48 vessels, North Star has been adding new vessels to service the UK’s growing offshore wind sector.
This includes its first three SOVs, which are leased out under long-term charter agreements, with a fourth currently operational at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
Three more SOVs are scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026.
The group successfully secured a debt investment of up to £425 million to accelerate its ambition to add 40 hybrid SOVs to its fleet by 2040.
North Star CEO Gitte Gard Talmo added: “Operating in one of the world’s most essential, and emissions intensive sectors brings with it a profound responsibility to lead the transition to cleaner, more sustainable operations.
“Last year we took significant steps to reduce our environmental footprint across all areas of the business from vessel design to crew behaviour. This laser-sharp approach has delivered measurable decarbonisation, led not just by our people but the on-going digitalisation for fleet management that we have introduced.”
