Page 14: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2022)

Back to the Drawing Board

Yesterday’s or Tomorrow’s

Offshore Energy: Which to Pick?

By Rik van Hemmen

Copyright Inna/AdobeStock ooking back, it is easy to wonder if one could have Let’s get real.

done better by taking the other fork in the road. I grew Offshore oil will not disappear overnight, but it is reasonable up in Holland in a maritime family and am pretty sure I to expect offshore oil exploration and development to decline

L would have stuck with maritime there. In 1968, when I to a fraction of its present size. Gradually declining oil explora- was 8 years old, my father left Holland America Line and joined tion will result in the loss of specialized equipment, but a very the United States Salvage Association. At the same time, their signi? cant part of the technology and its workers will ? nd em- main customer, the U.S. marine insurance industry, became ployment in sustainable offshore energy development.

heavily involved in the development of North Sea offshore oil At the moment, the ability to enter sustainable offshore en- and gas, and it resulted in an economic boom that made USSA’s ergy development is still wide open, particularly Wave Energy

Rotterdam of? ce wildly pro? table. My father had become the Conversion (WEC). Initially, WEC is technically more chal-

Rotterdam of? ce manager; and, in 1976, somehow U.S. head- lenging to achieve commercial viability, but recent develop- quarters thought that his transfer would bring the boom to New ments have shown that it can potentially be more cost effec-

York. So, my family moved to the United States and, after a tive than offshore wind.

one-year U.S. high school career, I went to Virginia Tech and It is troubling to note that oil companies with offshore de- became embroiled in U.S. maritime rather than Dutch maritime. velopment experience have not been more aggressive in WEC.

Would I have done better in Holland? Possibly, but I doubt There have been some attempts that were supported by oil it. Dumb luck has very much driven my life since arriving on companies, but these efforts were technically and economi- these shores, but offshore energy got me here. cally misguided and timid from an investment point of view.

Offshore energy has been a wild ride. If offshore oil companies do not join the game soon, they will

Back in Holland my father would occasionally take me be left out and will have little opportunity to transition and will on offshore drill rigs on weekend survey jobs, and I loved it have to initiate corporate endgame (liquidation) strategies.

because the roughnecks would always show me the soft ice Offshore wind is a given, but at this time it is still quite expen- cream machine and told me to help myself. Man, those rig sive compared to other sustainable technologies. To some extent workers were cool! the offshore oil industry is at fault for the increased cost and lim-

In my actual career, I would always hum the James Bond ited rate of progress on offshore wind, especially in the United theme (Dum da dum dum dum Da dum dum Dum da dum dum States. At the genesis of offshore oil in the 1960s, there were very dum) when the helicopter started to descend to some offshore few regulations and very little oversight; but due to environmen- rig. I even thought taking a trip on the basket or using the tal mishaps, the level of review, public review, and regulation has swing rope was super cool. Every time I had a job in Four- increased tremendously. This process transferred to offshore sus- chon, I could not help but be blown away by the sheer muscle tainable energy projects and is cumbersome and expensive.

and technological boldness of it all. While offshore wind is relatively expensive, the co-location

It will all be gone in a few decades. of offshore wind and WEC is an excellent ef? ciency multiplier,

Fortunately, that does not bother me at all because the future reducing the cost fractions of leasing, permitting, and shore infra- is bright and exciting. The latest James Bond is dead, but I structure costs, and extending the availability window of offshore am sure the new Jane Bond will end up in some ? ght on an sustainable energy generation when the wind does not blow. offshore wind farm or offshore wave energy converter. Just The single most signi? cant obstacle to offshore wind is pub- imagine that blade swinging by within inches of her head until lic resistance to visual pollution. None of the large offshore she manages to put the villain in the path of the next blade. wind projects in the United States have fully made it past the

And then she will in? ate a life raft with champagne and … public acceptance point. If and when there is public acceptance

Sorry, got distracted there. for the ? rst major project, the entire process will accelerate with 14 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • April 2022

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