With more than 50 years of maritime experience, McQuilling Partners and Blue Ocean Transfers are finding new ways to make offshore vessels more versatile, affordable, and ready to serve a growing range of ocean industries.
The ocean economy is changing, and the vessels that support it need to keep pace. For McQuilling Partners and its affiliated companies, McQuilling Renewables and Blue Ocean Transfers (BOT), that means finding ways to make offshore operations more efficient while opening doors to new markets.
Founded in 1972, McQuilling Partners is an international marine transportation company with more than 140 professionals across 11 offices worldwide. In 2022, the company expanded into offshore renewables, establishing McQuilling Renewables and BOT to bring its shipping experience, industry relationships, and business expertise to the U.S. offshore wind market.
Today, the companies are looking beyond offshore wind, developing solutions that can support a wider range of activities on the water.
One Vessel, Many Possibilities
At the heart of BOT’s work is a planned 111-foot vessel designed to serve multiple industries throughout its 25- to 30-year lifespan.
The Fast Support Vessel can be adapted for different stages of an offshore wind project, from early surveys and construction to maintenance and eventual decommissioning. But its potential doesn’t stop there. The same vessel could also support marine research, aquaculture, other offshore energy projects, and government operations.
Instead of building a completely different vessel for every job, BOT has designed a platform that is largely standardized, with features that can be customized for different uses.
This approach could make vessels less expensive to build while giving operators more flexibility as market needs change. It also means a vessel built for offshore wind could find work in other industries, helping keep it productive over its lifetime.
Finding a Better Way to Build
BOT isn’t just rethinking what a vessel can do. It’s also looking at how vessels are built.
In 2023, the company began working with industry partners, including vessel designer Incat Crowther and Bayou Metal Supply & Manufacturing, to explore ways to make shipbuilding more efficient and affordable in the United States.
Traditionally, vessel design, material sourcing, and construction planning happen in separate stages, especially in smaller, Tier III US shipyards. BOT’s approach brings those teams together earlier, allowing them to identify challenges and improve the design before construction begins.
The goal is straightforward: reduce costs, shorten construction timelines, and make it easier for U.S. shipyards to build multiple vessels using the same proven design.
That work is gaining recognition. In September 2026, BOT was named a finalist in the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub’s 2026 Innovator Program for its multi-purpose vessel with hybrid-electric propulsion.
Making Cleaner Vessels More Practical
BOT is also exploring how offshore vessels can reduce emissions without driving up operating costs.
Working with Rutgers University and Incat Crowther, the company studied whether hybrid-electric and fully electric propulsion could make financial and environmental sense for offshore support vessels.
The research looked at operations in five U.S. regions, comparing fuel use, electricity consumption, emissions, and operating costs.
The results were encouraging. Three East Coast regions showed strong potential for electrification, with the study highlighting attractive investment returns over the evolution to fully electric vessels.
The research also found that fully electric operations could become practical for other routes as battery technology and charging infrastructure improve.
Published in 2026, the study is already helping shape BOT’s vessel design, which now includes an optional hybrid-electric propulsion system.
Growing Beyond Offshore Wind
For McQuilling Renewables and BOT, the future is about putting their experience to work wherever ocean industries need it.
McQuilling Renewables continues to help offshore wind companies navigate marine transportation, port planning, and supply chain challenges. Its work includes a study for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) examining marine activity in the New York Bight to help inform future offshore energy development.
BOT, meanwhile, is focused on securing long-term charters from customers for its Fast Support Vessel, with a broader goal of building a fleet that can support different offshore industries.
Both companies see opportunities in marine research, aquaculture, and other emerging ocean markets that need reliable vessels and experienced maritime partners.
Through Oceantic Network, they’re making connections that can help turn those opportunities into business.
“Our membership in the Oceantic Network allows us to stay in front of the right people in the offshore wind industry, and further offers the opportunity for us to expand our offering to a broader audience in other Blue Economy industries,” the company shared.
As more industries look to the ocean for new opportunities, companies like McQuilling Renewables and Blue Ocean Transfers are showing how existing maritime experience can help support what comes next.
By designing vessels that can serve more than one market, they’re working to make the ocean economy more connected, flexible, and ready for growth.
Learn more: Blue Ocean Transfers | McQuilling Partners | Read the 2026 Vessel Decarbonization Study
