Karpowership is a Turkish builder, operator, and owner of a fleet of powerships. Since 2010, 36 powerships have been completed with their total installed capacity exceeding 6,000 MW and further capacity under construction (or scheduled). Karpowership executes all its activities in-house, including design, construction, site preparation, commissioning, fuel supply and electricity delivery.

Powership

Powerships are barge- or ship-mounted floating power plants, and they can operate on heavy fuel oil (HFO), diesel fuel, and/or natural gas. Karpowership's powerships are available under electricity-generation services contracts, power-rental contracts, energy-conversion works contracts or power-purchase agreements. In 2007, Karpowership developed a project named "Power of Friendship", which supplies electricity to shortage-stricken countries in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. The freighter ''Melpomeni'' was acquired in 2009 by Karpowership with the purpose to turn her into a floating power plant sailing under the Liberian flag. She was renamed ''Karadeniz Powership Doğan Bey'' after Nuri Doğan Karadeniz, the

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

of the company. In May 2009, the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, was commissioned with the task to convert a cargo ship into a Powership by installing the needed

engine-generator An engine–generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine (prime mover) mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an ''engine–generator set'' or a ''gen-set''. In many contexts ...

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s, and the

electric switchboard An electric switchboard is a device that distributes electricity from one or more sources of supply to several smaller load circuits. It is an assembly of one or more panels, each of which contains switching devices for the protection and contro ...

s on board. ''Karadeniz Powership Doğan Bey'' is the first of its kind, a Powership with dual-fuel diesel engines capable of operating on natural gas as well. Aboard the vessel, twelve 10.53 MW generator units are installed. Three units are present in each one of the ship's four holds, with the fans and funnels being mounted on deck.

Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas is a French company specialized in testing, inspection and certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including building and infrastructure (27% of revenue), agri-food and commodities (23% of revenue), ...

, an international certification agency with experience in overseeing both shipbuilding and power plant development, classified the vessel following its conversion as a "special service-floating power plant".

Operations

Karpowership has offices and is operational in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

. Karpowership's International Projects operate out of Istanbul, from where they can supply floating power plants to overseas locations.

Ships

Corruption allegations

Karpowership and its parent company Karadeniz have faced corruption allegations in several countries. In

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, Karadeniz is accused of corruption and faces a potential $25-million fine. In

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, a Karadeniz subsidiary allegedly paid middlemen to secure a $565 million government contract.

The Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

voided the contract in 2012 and launched a corruption investigation. It was resolved in 2019 through political negotiations between Pakistan and Turkey. In April 2021, the

Department of Mineral Resources and Energy The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is a department of the South African government which is responsible for the mining industry of South Africa, exploitation of the country's mineral resources, and the energy industry. It was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

entered into a 20-year power supply agreement with Karpowership to address the ongoing

energy crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...

. Accusations of corruption in the tendering process have led to legal challenges and ongoing judicial inquiry. On 1 August 2022, the

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (formerly Minister of Environmental Affairs) is the member of the Cabinet of South Africa. The post was created by President Jacob Zuma, in his cabinet announced on 10 May 2009; it partial ...

denied the appeal by the South African subsidiary to continue their project to deploy three ships with a total capacity of 1220 MW due to lack of consultation, unconvincing environmental reports and "questioned the need and desirability of the proposed project". The minister has allowed the company 180 days to address gaps and defects in their submission for reconsideration.Creecy shoots down Karpowership appeal but extends a lifeline to the project
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References

{{Reflist Powerships Companies based in Istanbul