Bibby Marine has launched Staffordshire, its battery-first electric commissioning service operation vessel, at Armon Shipyard in Vigo, Spain. The ship entered the water on 10 October 2026, beginning the next phase of construction ahead of planned delivery in 2027. Its large battery system and other equipment still have to be installed and tested; the launch marks a shipbuilding milestone rather than the start of offshore operations.
Designed for offshore wind projects, Staffordshire is intended to use a 25MWh lithium iron phosphate battery system as its principal source of electrical power. Corvus Energy is supplying the Blue Whale storage technology, while Kongsberg Maritime is responsible for an integrated propulsion, electrical control, automation and dynamic positioning package. The vessel will also carry onboard generation so that it can operate when offshore charging infrastructure is unavailable.
Kongsberg has based the electrical design on a working profile that includes approximately 14 nautical miles of travel within a wind farm each day and up to ten turbine connections. The company says the installed battery capacity should permit up to 24 hours of wholly electric operation under those design assumptions. The demand includes more than passage between turbines: thrusters must maintain the vessel’s position during personnel transfers, while accommodation and auxiliary systems also consume electricity.
The propulsion package includes rim-drive units and azimuth, retractable and tunnel thrusters controlled through the vessel’s dynamic positioning system. In rim-drive propulsion, blades attach to a driven outer ring, dispensing with the conventional central shaft and gearbox. Kongsberg identifies lower noise and improved manoeuvrability among the proposed benefits, although the performance of Staffordshire itself will be established through commissioning and operation.
Two 3.5MW engines are intended to provide charging power for the batteries when shore or offshore electricity cannot be supplied. Bibby has described the installation as methanol capable, with the engines operating at relatively constant load while battery discharge follows the changing requirements of propulsion and positioning. The amount of generation required will depend on the vessel’s duty cycle and access to charging infrastructure.
Bibby is working with Stillstrom on an offshore charging arrangement. Kongsberg describes provision for an 11kV AC connection and a four-to-five-hour full charging objective, but an available offshore charging point is a separate infrastructure requirement. The ship is being fitted to accept such a connection; its launch does not establish that a charging installation is already available at any particular wind farm.
The project was awarded nearly £20 million under the UK Government’s Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure programme in 2023. Bibby’s earlier assessments projected operating cost reductions of more than 40% in a self-charging configuration and approximately 70% with offshore charging. Those figures are forecasts based on the intended operating arrangements, not costs measured from Staffordshire in service.
With the hull afloat, Armon will continue outfitting the ship and installing the energy storage and propulsion equipment. Sea trials and commissioning remain ahead of the planned 2027 handover, when the completed systems can be assessed together under operating conditions.
