Siemens Energy has selected EST-Floattech to supply more than 1 MWh of battery capacity for Marco Polo Marine’s new CSOV Plus. Designed for offshore wind and oil and gas work, the vessel can later be fitted with a 20 MWh battery package for fully electric sailing.
Marco Polo Marine is building the CSOV Plus at its Batam shipyard, with Siemens Energy acting as system integrator for the vessel’s hybrid power plant. EST-Floattech will supply its Octopus High Energy battery modules to support hybrid propulsion and dynamic positioning (DP) operations.
The vessel is designed by Salt Ship Design and is described by EST-Floattech as the first CSOV developed from the outset for both offshore wind and oil and gas operations. It will feature a 100-tonne active heave compensated crane and a motion-compensated gangway for walk-to-work transfers in significant wave heights of up to 3.0 metres. Construction began in Batam in the second quarter of 2026, with delivery scheduled for the second quarter of 2028.
The battery system will work alongside the vessel’s generator sets and Siemens Energy’s BlueDrive PlusC. During DP operations, the batteries provide spinning reserve and absorb load variations. This allows fewer generators to run while keeping those operating closer to their optimum load.
The larger decarbonisation feature is built into the vessel’s electrical architecture. Marco Polo Marine has reserved space and battery management capacity for an eventual 20 MWh installation, which EST-Floattech says would allow the vessel to sail fully electric.
Once delivered, Marco Polo Marine’s Taiwan-based subsidiary PKR Offshore will operate the vessel under a multi-year framework agreement with Siemens Gamesa covering offshore wind projects in Taiwanese waters.
Walter van der Pennen, Chief Commercial Officer, EST-Floattech, said: “A battery system that supports those operations reliably, and that can be extended when the operator is ready to go fully electric, is exactly what the Octopus Series was designed for.”
The project puts battery capacity into the vessel’s initial design while leaving a route to a much larger electric system later in its operating life.
