Germany: Project management of Germany’s first LNG driven ferry successfully completed

The Emden-based company was responsible for the project management and the construction supervision of the newly-built ship. This means that EMO has now completed its second project for the AG “EMS” Group. The innovative conversion project on the MS “Ostfriesland” was the first.

“We are delighted to take on such sophisticated and challenging tasks within the AG “EMS” Group”, says EMO Managing Director Knut Gerdes. “We supervise our projects in terms of service and cost-oriented management. We intend to offer such services to the offshore wind market more actively. After all, we have particular expertise in the area,” explains Gerdes.

Both projects placed unusual demands on the project management, in particular the innovative LNG drive technology (based on liquid gas), the requirements with regard to the respective areas of application on Borkum and Helgoland and the matter of passengers with limited mobility as well as diverse other challenges. Michael Baumfalk was responsible for the project management. Along with his construction supervisor, Heinz Stolle, he managed two innovative projects. “In both projects, a comprehensive amount of pioneering work was performed for the maritime industry”, says Baumfalk. He underlines once again the new introduction of the LNG technology and the know-how thus obtained.

For more than five years EMO has been successfully active as a maritime service provider in the shipping industry and in particular in the offshore wind market. Besides ferries, the company focuses above all on the development, construction and operation of offshore vessels. Other EMO focuses include harbour and logistics services as well as maritime coordination. “Our aim is to develop suitable service vessels and to make them available to wind sector customers”, says Gerdes. The company reaps the benefits of synergy within the AG “EMS” Group and the cooperation with shipyards and customers from the maritime industry.

The competences of the EMS Maritime Offshore GmbH, founded in 2010, mainly lie in the maintenance of wind farms. The focus is placed on special service and crew transfer ships. EMS Maritime Offshore also provides traffic control ships for offshore construction sites. Harbour and warehouse logistics and harbour management, including at locations and base harbours such as Eemshaven, Borkum, Emden, Cuxhaven, Büsum and Helgoland, are also part of their activities. Control centres for offshore wind farms are operated in Berne, Bremerhaven, Horneby/DK and in Sassnitz. Today, the company has approximately 100 employees, and the AG “EMS” Group has over 400 in total.

Furthermore, EMO, in a joint venture with Bernhard Schulte Group, Hamburg and SSC Wind, Wildeshausen, is involved in the WINDEA Offshore GmbH & Co. KG. As part of a reliable and experienced team of specialists, WINDEA is in a position to supply an almost complete range of services in connection with the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms. Maritime Services, Aviation Services, Wind Energy Services, Medical Services – you can receive everything from one source via WINDEA!