North Star’s £400 million ongoing commitment as part of its ESG strategy, combined with a £1.8 million investment in crew training last year, has delivered significant progress in its transition to operating a net zero fleet by 2045.
The UK’s largest integrated ship owner-operator has a current fleet of 48 vessels. Findings from its 2024 ESG report spotlight a year of rapid operational transformation and sustainability performance. Highlights include an 18% reduction in fleet-wide carbon intensity compared to 2022, alongside a 15% year-on-year cut in Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The 12-month analysis illustrates the successful deployment of the company’s first three service operation vessels (SOVs) under long-term charter agreements. Since 2024, a fourth SOV has been operational at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, while the firm’s first methanol-ready SOV has commenced work under a European contract. Three more SOVs are scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026.
Leading on North Star’s ESG report, strategic projects manager Jen Redman explained: “Our ESG performance isn’t simply a compliance exercise, it’s integral to how we make decisions. By embedding sustainability into operational decision-making, we’ve cut emissions, improved efficiency and secured major new charters.”
These improvements have been driven by the transition towards new, more fuel-efficient vessels as new SOVs are delivered, a focus on efficiency in vessel route planning and an awareness campaign which drives ships’ crew to place an emphasis on fuel efficiency in operational decision making.
Its growing SOV fleet is designed with hybrid propulsion, battery-ready architecture and green methanol compatibility, enabling seamless integration of zero-emission technologies as they scale. AI-enabled vessel planning and predictive maintenance capabilities, a fully integrated ERP and emissions monitoring systems are already live across the fleet, allowing the North Star team to identify and encourage efficiency across all operations.
North Star CEO Gitte Gard Talmo said: “Operating in one of the world’s most essential, and emissions intensive sectors brings with it a profound responsibility to lead the transition to cleaner, more sustainable operations.
“Last year we took significant steps to reduce our environmental footprint across all areas of the business from vessel design to crew behaviour. This laser-sharp approach has delivered measurable decarbonisation, led not just by our people but the on-going digitalisation for fleet management that we have introduced.”
In 2024, average carbon intensity across the fleet fell to 1.7t CO2/GRT/year, from 2.1t in 2022. The company is aiming for 1.5t by 2028.
In addition to significant investment into new technology systems and solutions, North Star has also invested £1.8 million in the last twelve months to training and crew development.
This supports the transition of many seafarers from traditional oil and gas emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRVs) to state-of-the-art SOVs. As part of this initiative, 120 cadets have been onboarded through the UK’s largest maritime training programme, underscoring North Star’s commitment to developing the next generation of marine professionals.
North Star is headquartered in Aberdeen and has strategically located facilities in Newcastle, Lowestoft and Hamburg. Its workforce is made up of around 1,500 offshore and onshore personnel and carries out all its ship maintenance in-house.
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