Atlantic Towing gets funds for offshore battery project

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Atlantic Towing Ltd. has been awarded funding to implement the first multiple-mode battery application on a vessel in the Canadian offshore oil and gas industry.

The marine service company will receive more than $4.9 million through Petroleum Research Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a news release from the company.

The Atlantic Shrike, a platform supply vessel constructed in 2017, will receive upgrades as a result of the funding.

Atlantic Towing indicated it hopes the vessel improvements will reduce the greenhouse gas output of the Atlantic Shrike by 800 tonnes of CO2 per year.

“This award will have a significant impact in allowing us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Sheldon Lace, offshore business director with Atlantic Towing, in the release.

The funding for the project will go toward offshore research, development and demonstration. It will accommodate the integration of battery systems into the Atlantic Shrike's existing diesel-electric propelling force plant.

“This project, which allows us to implement battery technology on one of our (platform supply vessels), is an important step for us. It is also an important step for the offshore oil and gas industry in Atlantic Canada,” Wayne Power, group vice-president of J.D. Irving, a conglomerate of which Atlantic Towing is a member, said in the release.

Atlantic Towing is headquartered in New Brunswick and has offices elsewhere in Atlantic Canada.