New horizons: Ampelmann looks back on 2024

As 2024 draws to a close, Ampelmann looks back on a year of sustained growth, innovation and collaboration. A year characterised by new and old associations as well as growing global commitments, the past 12 months saw the offshore access sector take to the skies, as Ampelmann launched new products and services.

“This year, we saw both offshore wind and the offshore hydrocarbon market continue their strong growth,” says Jan van der Tempel, CEO of Ampelmann. “I am also very proud of the launch of our W-type, specifically built for the new SOV fleet. Our production team has increased capacity to build one system per month over the next years. With our fleet working at maximum capacity, we continue to work closely with our customers to enhance the performance beyond just Walk to Work.”

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First light above the skyline: pioneering change and growth

In response to the rising global demand for safe and efficient offshore access, Ampelmann’s fleet has grown considerably in the past year. The company has scaled up production and diversified its portfolio to better suit the individual needs of its clients and markets. Adopting modularity as a core part of the design loop, Ampelmann has firmly shifted its attention to electric, lightweight and connective designs that have improved energy efficiency and lower carbon footprints.

In the past 12 months alone, three W-types and four E1000s were built and another two W-types and three electric A-types are to follow by early 2025. Additionally, three A300s joined the company’s fleet in the first half of the year. The company’s production facility in Rotterdam at the Onderzeebootloods (OZB) is rolling out one new system per month for the foreseeable future –including new gangway designs that will bring the company’s portfolio to new heights.

Not far from the company’s production facilities at the OZB, Ampelmann’s W2W Academy was hard at work training new operators and developing the skills of experienced operators for the growing and diversified portfolio of gangway systems. Increasing the size of their training capacity over the last year, more than 80 trainees were certified to work internally for Ampelmann, or directly for one of the company’s clients and 50 Ampelmann operators have added W-, L-type or E1000 specialisation to their skillset.

Amongst the new systems that joined Ampelmann’s fleet this year is the W-type. This tower system is the company’s dedicated solution for the C/SOV market. Fully integrated, the gangway is fully electric, requires no HPU, and can make a horizontal landing up to 30m above sea level, allowing for trolley operations of up to 750kg. Capable to convert into a crane with a cargo bearing capacity of 2,000kg, the W-type includes a lift to facilitate the flow of goods and is operated from the bridge to allow for a seamless connection to the vessel’s station keeping abilities.

The first transfers at height were officially made in October, when personnel on the Olympic Boreas used the W-type for the first time on the open sea. Joined shortly thereafter by the commissioning of a second W-type, together these two new gangway systems have already transferred more than 3,000 personnel and over 70 tonnes of cargo. Nine more gangways have already been sold, two of which are expected to join the company’s fleet in the North Sea before the end of Q1 2025.

Beyond the skyline, Ampelmann officially introduced its Drone Services to the world. As the first commercially available offshoot of the company’s Loonshot projects, the drone service is not only a tribute to Safi Bahcall’s ideas on how to successfully nurture innovations and bring them to market, but also a significant addition to the company’s service package.

Throughout 2024, the team expanded its operational experience using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on projects across the North Sea and continued to explore how airborne access to wind turbines enhances offshore operations.

Cargo delivery drones bring considerable efficiencies to the offshore energy sector by delivering goods directly from the vessel to the nacelle or delivery piece of the turbine, and back. Fully EASA certified in the specific category and thus capable of handling a large variety of goods, equipment and spare parts, the new service will elevate offshore operations to the next level. Optimised operational planning through preloads and heightened responsiveness in times of need ensure smooth offshore operations and a reduction of carbon emissions, while simultaneously maximising tool time, efficiency and safety.

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Temperate noon: continuity and change

Like previous years, safe and efficient offshore access continued to be in high demand throughout Europe’s offshore wind sector. With a total of 11 W-types already sold, and two in operation, the tone is set for a new phase in the maturing offshore wind market. Elsewhere, too, the fortunes of the growing offshore wind sector remained important drivers behind the demand for the company’s motion compensated gangways.

In Taiwan, the year started out strong. In early spring, Ampelmann signed a contract with a prominent turbine manufacturer to supply two E1000s to assist with the commissioning of wind turbines in the Formosa Strait. Making full use of the E1000's capability to work well into the winter season, new contracts were signed that will see the extension of work until next year. Ampelmann’s involvement in the country has grown considerably since last years’ unveiling of its new office in Taipei, which the company also intends to use as a stepping stone to better serve the projected emergence of offshore wind markets in Japan and South Korea.

Crowning last year’s achievements during work on the largest floating wind farm in the world, Ampelmann reached a new milestone in its support of the completion of Southfork, the first offshore wind farm in the USA.

With Vineyard just beyond the horizon and work on Revolution already underway, the company's involvement in the country’s nascent offshore wind sector has both widened and deepened in the past year. Moving towards fully localised operational support, the unveiling of two new offices on the East Coast in 2023 were followed by the appointment of new operators, warehouse coordinators and project managers.

During the first collaboration of Ampelmann and Seaway7 in the USA, the year saw the first use of the E5000 outside of Europe. The only system within its class that combines the versatility of a gangway and a crane with a lifting capacity of nearly 5,000 kilogrammes, the E5000 was used to lift heavy duty generators, among others, during the construction of wind turbines in the Northwestern Atlantic.

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Tropical sunset: localisation and renewal

Around the Tropical Zone, operations were characterised by the familiar as much as the new. Ampelmann opened a new office in Brunei and enlarged its warehouse to better facilitate operations in the area. The company has had a local presence in the city state since 2012. Alongside the warehouse and office, a dedicated team of Bruneian Operations Control Centre (OCC) engineers cover the Eastern Hemisphere in case of emergency. Given the rising importance of the Asia Pacific market, the new office and warehouse have streamlined supply chains, operator training, maintenance and repairs in the region.

The year also brought one of Ampelmann’s gangways to Saudi Arabia – the first since 2022 – and, just as notably, the L-type, an electric system purposedly designed for smaller vessels, assisted with a maintenance project on a Single Point (Buoy) Mooring (SPM) off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Though the Ship to Ship (S2S) capabilities of the system were well established in the market, this was the first time a motion compensated gangway was used to access an SPM. Capable of safely compensating for the relative motions of both the vessel and the buoy, the project proved that safe and efficient marine access is possible in this growing segment of the O&G market.

In the Caribbean, the company signed a major contract extension with Delta Logistics Limited for a long-term maintenance project in Trinidad. For Hornbeck Offshore, Ampelmann completed a project in the Gulf of Mexico that required a locally built pedestal to increase the height of the E-type gangway. Getting back to work in Mexican waters was another key milestone this year, as the company secured a six-month contract with its A-type onboard the Atlantic Tonjer to enable the safe transfer of personnel offshore.

In the Southern Atlantic, business continued to be shaped by the extended collaboration and trust of regional partners. No doubt, the important role of FPSOs throughout these waters meant that S2S work scopes remained a particularly important feature of both the Brazilian and the West African markets. Here, Ampelmann’s 6DOF systems have become an important alternative to conventional semi-sub flotels for work on FPSOs and accommodation vessels.

In Africa, an A-type reached the new project milestone of over 300.000 personnel transferred during its three-year long tenure in Cote d’Ivoire. With over 90 crew members transferred daily for various operations and maintenance scopes, the project has become a testament to the efficiencies that W2W can bring to the offshore energy sector. Elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea, the company sold an A-type to a client in Angola. A satisfactory close to the year, this not only marked the first engagement in the country since 2022, but also the first system that was sold to an African client.

“The orderbook for 2025 sees continuation of the global need for energy of all colours,” says Van der Tempel. “Furthermore, we will add cargo drones to our operational fleet to increase the effectiveness of SOVs in offshore wind. Other exciting developments are currently cooking in our Loonshots team in the realm of silent foundation installation and the acceleration of cable installation for land falls, helping to relieve the grid congestion.

Exciting outlooks in a dynamic world where we keep making offshore access as easy as crossing the street.”

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