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DELIVERY AND ORDER ROUND-UP
Sweden orders four Stan Tug 1606s with modifications for its armed forces, and Damen receives an order for multi-vessel harbour tugs
This month’s delivery and order report includes a multivessel naval harbour tug order for Damen and launching of Port of Antwerp Bruges’s hydrogen-powered tug.
Following previous deliveries of two Damen ASD 3010 iceclass tugs, Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration has returned to the Dutch shipbuilder with an order for four modified Stan Tug 1606s, including options for two extra vessels. The order was placed by FMV (Försvarets Materielverk), who acquires equipment for the Swedish armed forces, and extra modifications means the standard design will be extended to 17m length, creating a Stan Tug 1706 ICE class.
Modifications include heavy duty crane, bow thruster, extra strong aft winch, heating and air conditioning along with galley with settee and toilet for crew comfort.
The twin-screwed quartet will each be powered by Volvo D13 MH engines, exhaust silencing and SCR ensuring compliance with IMO Tier III regulations and an auxiliary generator delivering electrical power for the crane.
Bilge cooling ducts will transfer heat from a closed loop arrangement avoiding ice particles blocking water take-in systems. Push knees on the bow will also be adapted for ice navigation. The tugs will be built at Albwardy Damen Dubai, with delivery due by end 2023, and two will operate at Stockholm with two in Karlskrona. If the two options are taken up, they will operate in western Sweden.
Damen’s Multi Cat workboat range has experienced consistent success since first introduced around a quarter of a century ago and latest delivery to report sees the customised Multi Cat 2409 Lamine Camara delivered to the Guinean port of Kamsar, where it will be used for port and fairway maintenance. Damen’s build-for-stock policy allowed a delivery time of just 4.5 months for the vessel, which was built with cooperation of Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée overcoming Covid restrictions with passage from Hardinxveld in the Netherlands to West Africa under its own keel.
Maintaining buoys guiding bauxite ore carriers to and from the port of Kamsar is part of Lamine Camara’s duties, for which two large cranes are installed. The forward crane is able to lift more than 18t at 7m, the second crane aft capable of lifting more than 4.5t at over 5m.
Additional duties maintaining the port’s fairways include ploughing with an 8m plough operated from an A-frame at the vessel’s stern, deck equipment also includes a 72t brake winch and power is provided by two Caterpillar C32 engines developing 1,268kW and 22.5tbp.
Turkey’s Sanmar Shipyards has reported delivery of two powerful low-emission tugs from its Boğaçay and Deliçay range. South America’s SAAM Towage are no stranger to Sanmar’s products and its latest arrival to operate in Peru, Saam Condor, built as Bogacay L is the fifth RAmparts 2400SX Sanmar-exclusive tug for SAAM in a six-vessel order. Like its sisters, the 24m vessel has a bollard pull of 70t. MJ previously featured the sixth tug, a Rastar 2900SX vessel named Mataquito II.
As well as a vessel builder in its own right, Sanmar also operates a fleet of around 20 tugs in Turkey’s seven most important harbours on the Marmara Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean and Aegean Sea, a policy that allows ‘one careful owner’ vessels to be offered prompt to other customers.
The latest delivery for its own fleet is Deliçay XIII, a TRAktor-Z 2500SX tractor tug. Power for the 25m long, 12m beam vessel is via two Caterpillar 3516C HD main engines producing 4,200kW total driving Kongsberg US255FP thrusters and delivering a respectable 70tbp, the tug also having fifi1 rating. Sanmar also reports that Deliçay XIII will replace Sanmar Terminal XXIV, which will be joining the expanding fleet of MedTug.
Port of Antwerp Bruges is reporting progress with its pioneering Hydrotug 1, which it is claimed will be the world’s largest hydrogen-powered tug, following the vessel’s launch at Astilleros Armon Shipyards in Spain.
The 30m long, 12.5m beam, 65tbp vessel will have a tractor configuration and be powered by two 2,600hp BeHydro V12 dual-fuel medium speed engines that can run on hydrogen and traditional fuel.
BeHydro is a JV between ABC and CMB.TECH and demonstrating a clearly ambitious vision, Roy Campe, CTO at CMB.TECH says: “The technology has been approved by Lloyd’s Register and we are ready to approach the global market of 10,000 tugs.”
8 Swedish armed
forces have ordered up to six Stan Tugs 1706 ICE from Damen
8 Port of Antwerp
Bruges’s hydrogenpowered tug has been launched in Spain
Credit: Port of Antwerp Bruges
EMISSIONS-FREE PUSHER TUG NAMED
Following two years of construction, the emissions-free hydrogen-powered pusher tug Elektra has been named and delivered in Germany
It is not that many years ago that tug production, be it oceangoing, shiphandling or the inland variety, involved a traditional direct-drive mechanical arrangement of shaftdriven propellers or azimuthing and cycloidal thrusters, the common denominator being that they were powered by fossil fuels, typically marine diesel.
Tug development is in an entirely different place now with a huge push to increase operational efficiencies in the face of rising fuel costs, along with efforts to make what is by default an industry requiring reserves of power yet aiming to reduce emissions. The drive originates from a range of interests, from the tug owners’ board rooms keen to present their product in a socially acceptable way down to their customers – ship owners who are similarly following green agendas, including with the services they employ.
Tug owners contemplating new tonnage are now presented with a variety of choices, from optimising existing mechanical arrangements to battery-hybrid and pure battery tugs, as well as several alternative fuel options, including methanol and LNG, and coming up on the outside – hydrogen. Inland tug operators regularly work in built-up urban areas, which will welcome the prospect of emissions-free operations. MJ has previously reported on Kotug’s E-pusher series of modular and scalable electric pusher tugs as exampled by the Kotug CityBarge, powered by swappable energy containers.
EST-Floattech has provided details of its involvement with Elektra, with German Federal Minister Dr Volker Wissing commenting that the tug “…is the world’s first push boat in which battery-electric propulsion is combined with hydrogen and fuel cell technology. The entire project is a blueprint for the climate and environmentally friendly inland shipping, not only technically but also in terms of regulation, real pioneering work.”
Nuts and bolts
Built by Hermann Barthel GmbH in Derben, Germany, the project involved eight partners under management of the Department of Maritime Systems Design and Operations at the Technical University of Berlin, and Elektra will be a role model applicable to other barge and coastal vessels.
The basis of the hybrid system is a battery package comprising 242 DNV-GL approved EST-Floattech GO1050 modules (total capacity 2.5MWh) alongside three maritime fuel cell systems, each of 100kW peak power.
While power from the battery and fuel cells will be used together, driving the electric motors, for complete redundancy the two powertrains are entirely independent systems.
The energy storage system includes integrated safety measures, its “unique” active balancing and passive safety system applied at the module and string level, with heat dissipated by a simple off-the-shelf aircon unit.
Battery racks can be easily installed in a modular fashion and propulsion will be via Schottel Rudderpropellers type SRP 100 and a Schottel steering and control system, the German propulsion system manufacturer saying the tug will
have a maximum speed of 10 km/h with maximum thrust load of 1,400t available.
The final design is a substantial pusher tug of 20m length with a beam of 8.2m and draught 1.25m. EST-Floattech says that in battery-electric mode, it will cover 65km over an eight-hour period before recharging with an electric power capacity of 21,200KWh for an emissions-free round trip from Berlin to Hamburg. Using hydrogen, the tug will be able to travel a minimum of 100km over a 16-hour day or longer.
Elektra was ordered by Berlin harbour’s warehousing and logistics provider Behala and is designed to push the cargo barge Ursus primarily for the transport of goods on the Berlin to Hamburg and inner-city routes in Berlin. Described as “its most important transportation task”, Elektra will carry Siemens turbines from their production site in Berlin to Hamburg.
“The investment costs are significantly higher than for comparable conventional push boats,” says Behala. “The goal, however, is to achieve an efficiency in terms of operating costs like that seen with diesel drive technology. Yet we can also put other aspects into the balance here: an additional use which is not immediately obvious is also conceivable.
“Elektra could function as an electricity supplier for a district, i.e., as a mobile power plant; the notion of integrated energy springs to mind here – comprising heat, energy and mobility.”
8 Elektra will push
a cargo barge including carrying turbines from Berlin to Hamburg
8 Wirral UK-based Carmet Tug Company has
increased its capacity with acquisition of its first ASD tug, also becoming the most powerful vessel in its fleet.
Carmet is best known for its iconic MSC-prefixed UK-built Manchester Ship Canal tugs, which are still looking immaculate two years short of their 50th birthday.
Its latest vessel, CT Upton, is very different, however: the 35tbp Japanese-built tug was originally Tai Tam, part of the Hong Kong Salvage & Towage fleet, before moving to European waters in 2003 as the Trueman for SMS Towage of Hull, from whom Carmet has bought the vessel.
8 MAN Engines has approved all marine
engines from its current product range to
operate using renewable diesel fuel in line with standard EN15940 European 8 Carmet’s latest addition CT Upton was orginally operating in Hong Kong
specifications along with similar ASTM D75 specifications in the US.
MAN engines are a popular choice for tug owners, but with such vessels and their machinery expected to live a long life, replacing the engines with modern equivalents to satisfy demands for environmentally friendly operations can be costly. MAN’s approval will allow customers to replace conventional diesel fuel with “green” diesel which is obtained from waste and residues of animal and plant origin, crop residues and hydrotreated vegetable oils. 8 Belfast-based Harland & Wolff (H&W) has won an £8.5 million (€10.1 million) initial Lebus YP 2019.qxp_Lebus YP 17/12/2019 15:07 Page 1
contract for fabrication of eleven barges for Cory Group’s waste management operation on the River Thames.
Just as Carmet’s tugs (mentioned above) are part of the fabric of the Manchester Ship Canal, so Cory’s tugs and barges are part of the Thames scene, moving around 750,00t of recyclable and non-recyclable black bag waste a year.
The upgrading of this element of its fleet will see the new barges constructed in H&W’s vast undercover fabrication halls using its new robotic welding line, the programme due to complete around mid-2023.
8 Sanmar Shipyards recently joined the
International Harbour Masters’ Association as a commercial member and not long afterwards, the company attended the association’s biennial congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sanmar attended as an exhibitor with the important role of demonstrating the towage industry’s efforts to decarbonise the sector and for itself, its mission to lead the world to a sustainable emission-free towage industry. To that end Sanmar showcased its Robert Allan Ltd-designed ElectRA series of electric tugs, which have been hailed “an industry game-changer”.
DUTCH SEA RESEARCH VESSEL LAUNCHED
A ‘sustainable as possible’ Dutch research vessel has been launched to join the national sea research fleet
A new research boat has been added to the Dutch national research fleet and christened RV Adriaen Coenen.
The research vessel was built at NG Shipyards in Lauwersoog, in The Netherlands, and once tested it will be put to sea for the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), which is trying to replace two larger research ships it manages as part of the national research fleet.
At 19 metres, the RV Adriaen Coenen will be the smallest ship in the fleet, with capacity for 12 passengers and two crew.
Despite its smaller size, the vessel is equipped with wet and dry laboratories, ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructure, cranes, a spacious working deck with room for two rubber boats or a 10ft container.
“It is a quiet ship, which is very pleasant for crew, researchers and the environment,” said skipper Wim Jan Boon. ”Because the computer automatically keeps the ship in the desired position during research, I can work more efficiently.”
The vessel has been designed with a huge focus on sustainability, and it is powered by HVO, which means 90% less CO2 is emitted, says Feico Hoogeveen, from NAVIS Naval Management & Consultancy, who supervised the build. ”When combined with particle filters and a catalytic converter, the system is at least equivalent to the emissions reduction achieved by using methanol,” he says. ”And the AdBlue system fitted to the exhaust also provides a significant reduction in nitrogen emissions. All of the installations were designed to use as little energy as possible. The coolant water system, for example, includes a thermal transfer unit.
“The LED lighting is controlled by movement sensors and powered by solar panels. The vessel is also fitted with as much thermal insulation as possible to keep energy consumption for heating to a minimum.”
The hull, he said, was designed with computational fluid dynamics to optimise its hydrodynamic characteristics.
“The propulsion system uses hydrojets to allow the vessel
8 RV Adriaen Coenen
christened at NG Shipyards
to operate in shallow water and to beach itself without causing damage to the propellers,” he said.
NG Shipyards Director Albert Keizer also said the vessel was built using solar energy.
First search & rescue boat for ICE-SAR
Kewatec Shipyards has launched the first of three rescue boats in Iceland for testing.
The boats are being built for the Icelandic Search and Rescue Association.
Kewatec Shipyards signed an agreement with the (ICE-SAR, Slysavarnafélagið Landsbjörg) a year ago to build three 17m self-righting Kewatec Serecradt SAR 17s and construction begain in Kokkola last October.
“The launch was a success despite the traffic jam with several boats at the dock this summer,” said Jesper Häggblom, Project Manager at Kewatec.
The €5.7 million three boats are just a start - under the terms of the agreement signed in July 2021, a further 10 vessels are planned for the fleet over the next few years.
”The highly demanding sea conditions in Iceland and the North Atlantic place tough demands on the vessels. We are proud to have this contract and confidence from an Icelandic, experienced operator and, at the same time, humble in the face of local forces of nature,” said Sales Director Jari Ahoranta.
ICE-SAR is a national association of rescue units and accident prevention divisions that includes 99 rescue units, 70 accident prevention units and approximately 10,000 volunteers. It operates in most Icelandic cities.
ARCTIC FACTORY TRAWLER LAUNCHED
Tersan Shipyard will also build two methanol-powered service vessels for Dutch firm Acta Marine
Turkish shipyard Tersan has launched NB1102 - soon to be named Gadus - an arctic freezer trawler built for P/F JFK in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic.
Designed by Skipsteknik, the 88.1m x 18.3m fishing vessel is the second trawler built at Tersan for owners on the Faroe Islands in the last two months, it says.
She will be outfitted with a shrimp factory, an advanced fillet factory and a fishmeal and fish oil plant, Tersan says.
The effectiveness date of the project was the beginning of the Covid pandemic ‘‘ and this project provided us with a separate source of motivation, strength and happiness. For this reason, she has a special importance for us
With accommodation for 43 people, she will be capable of efficiently trawling in icy and arctic waters and is planned to be delivered in the last quarter of 2022.
“The effectiveness date of the project was the beginning of the Covid pandemic and this project provided us with a separate source of motivation, strength and happiness,” said Tersan Chairman Osman Nurettin Paksu. ”For this reason, she has a special importance for us.”
Tersan employs more than 6,000 workers in two shipyards - one in Istanbul, the other in Yalova.
In June, it signed a contract with Acta Marine Netherlands for two Construction Service Operating Vessels powered by methanol and MDO/HVO.
Designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions, the two vessels are planned to serve in the offshore wind construction market and include TWIN-X stern, an integrated walk-to-work gangway system, 3D crane and hotel-styled accommodation areas.
8 NB1102 (to be
named Gadus), an arctic freezer trawler from Tersan Shipyard
Record ship reaches Europe
The world’s largest ice-rated multi-fuel RoRo cargo ship has reached Europe and is set to enter regular service.
The hybrid MGO/LNG Botnia Enabler is the first of Wallenius Sol’s award-winning vessels, along with sister ship Baltic Enabler. On 30 June 2022 she reached the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, fully laden following her seven-week maiden voyage from China.
“Finally being able to welcome her to Europe is a big deal,” said Ragnar Johansson, Managing Director at Wallenius Sol.
“As her name suggests, Botnia Enabler will help Swedish and Finnish industry and enable our customers to reach important ports in northern Finland, Sweden, Germany, Benelux and the UK with their goods.”
The ship will now unload at a number of terminals in Zeebrugge and Antwerp before once again taking on board cargo for customers such as Northvolt, Metsä and Stora Enso.
On 7 July Botnia Enabler will enter scheduled traffic on her regular ZeebruggeAntwerp-Kookola-Oulu-KemiSkellefteå-Travemünde route.
“Botnia Enabler has increased our container capacity by 300 per cent, and almost 100 per cent for RoRo cargo, compared to the ship she is replacing. And later, when we add Baltic Enabler, the route will have a capacity of 962 teu,” said Ragnar Johansson.
New CTV procured for Williams
Safehaven Marine’s new CTV was on show at Seawork before going to new owners Williams Shipping.
Safehaven Marine has built an Interceptor 48 Pilot Boat for Williams Shipping in Southampton, UK.
Willfreedom will be used for crew, passenger and pilot transfers.
The vessel is powered by a pair of Scania DI13 500hp engines with a 7kw AC generator, with a top speed of 26 knots. She has a polyurethane bonded fendering system for
8 Willfreedom by Safehaven Marine
protection during boarding activities in rough weather, and is also fitted with an MOB recovery platform.
Willfreedom has passed all sea trials and will be taken down to Southampton for Seawork, where she will be on show.
Williams aims to expand its fleet to be able to provide quicker and safer passenger transfers along the south coast, it says.
Safehaven Marine, based in County Cork, Ireland, has designed and built 150 vessels delivered to 28 countries since its inception in 1996.
NEW CAMERA SHEDS LIGHT IN BAD WEATHER
A new thermal camera capable of clear images even in low light is helping a ground-breaking test boat perform in all weathers
Marine navigation software company TIMEZERO has equipped its new Starfisher 830 with the latest in marine electronics including the FLIR M364C thermal and low light camera, a multi-beam fishfinder and Furuno displays.
Whilst the trial is on a small fishing boat, TIMEZERO is confident that the equipment package would be equally at home on a search and rescue cutter, super yacht or large commercial fishing vessel.
Sales and marketing director Frédéric Algalarrondo estimates the electronics equipment package represents nearly half of the boat’s total value.
“We believe that the way FLIR’s thermal imaging cameras integrate with TIMEZERO and Furuno is a game-changer,” he said.
“This FLIR M364C integration onboard our test boat is more than an additional sensor to plug into our software. The data that the camera outputs becomes central to the safety of the boat at any times of navigational doubt and the integration is well designed so even when the skipper has been away from the helm it is easy for them to return and understand very quickly from the MFD screen what has changed and what’s important.”
Critical information including depth, tracked objects, route, waypoints, track and weather routing is presented on Furuno’s multi-function display screen and radar, AIS and other sensor data is also overlaid into the camera view.
The FLIR thermal imaging camera also includes a highresolution daylight camera with a 30x optical zoom. New, proprietary colour thermal vision technology integrates the views from the daylight and thermal cameras displaying the two views side by side on the vessel’s MFD.
8 The Starfisher 830,
which has been fitted with the FLIR M364C thermal and low light camera
Rovco to charter vessel for offshore wind
ROV and hydrographic survey provider Rovco has agreed to charter a vessel to support its offshore wind farm projects.
Ship owner Vroon has agreed to lease VOS Star to Rovco, who will operate its Seaeye Leopard Work Class ROV systems on the 68m vessel on operations in UK and Dutch waters.
The VOS Star is a 68m DP2 subsea support vessel, built in 2016. The purposebuilt vessel has accommodation for up to 49 people and has a wide deck space of 485m2, and an SMST knuckle boom crane for multi-purpose operations. ”The team will perform a multitude of detailed subsea survey, maintenance and repair tasks, on a 24-hour basis, with a wide array of cable tracking and ROV tooling available, including Rovco’s unique intelligent data collection system, SubSLAM X2,” says Rovco. ”Rovco’s powerful Seaeye Leopard ROVs, combined with the DP2 VOS Star, will allow safe and efficient project delivery even during harsh weather conditions increasing the window of opportunity and reducing downtime. ”We are excited to forge a new relationship with Vroon, expanding our fleet and continuing to support the energy sector with a focus on transition to renewable sources of power,” said Rovco Managing Director Simon Miller.
PILOT LAUNCH MEETS GROWING DEMAND
The UK’s Briggs Marine has commissioned another pilot launch, growing its fleet of ORCs to six
This latest investment will enable Briggs Marine to offer charter opportunities for pilot launches, a service where demand is currently outstripping supply. The company believes this will continue to grow as many ports struggle with ageing fleets.
“We are delighted to be providing Briggs with an ORC 121, which is a 12m long vessel. We have previously supplied ORC 171s and ORC 136s but this vessel is shorter, enabling it to be road transportable,” said Steven Pierce of Goodchild Marine, who will be manufacturing and delivering the vessel to Briggs Marine in 2023.
“The other benefit to this vessel, of course, is that the semi displacement hull design of the ORC is about 40% more fuel efficient than counterparts of similar size, helping to reduce emissions.”
Road transportable
The new pilot vessel has been designed to be road transportable, allowing Briggs Marine to be highly reactive to customers’ timescales and achieve greater fuel efficiency when transporting the vessel longer distances.
In the lead-up to celebrating its 50th anniversary, Briggs Marine continues to upgrade its assets and work towards reducing the environmental impact of the fleet.
“We are extremely pleased to confirm that Briggs Marine is continuing to invest in its fleet. This latest project will enable current and future customers more modern and efficient pilot launch options,” said Rob Baker, General Manager, Briggs Marine. ”This is the sixth pilot launch we’ve commissioned with Goodchild Marine in the last eight years. The first five vessels have enabled us to provide first-class pilot services in the port of Liverpool and this service is now extended to other customers through this charter opportunity.”
Other recent investments for Briggs Marine include a Crew Transfer Vessel in 2021, a new multipurpose workboat and three new line-handling vessels to support a range of customers.
8 This latest
investment will enable Briggs Marine to offer charter opportunities for pilot launches
Wave bilge filter for highspeed ferry
One of Europe’s largest ferry companies operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea has chosen a Wave International water bilge filter system for its new highspeed catamaran.
Attica Group will fit its Aero 1 Highspeed ferry with the Wave MiniBOSS oily water bilge filter system as part of its commitment to reducing pollution.
The ferry operator has introduced three of the new catamarans at a total of more than €21 million for the three million annual passengers on its Greek Saronic routes. Built by the Brødrene Aa Shipyard in Norway, the 36 metre carbon vessels can reach a maximum speed of 32 knots.
The Wave MiniBOSS oily water separators have been supplied by Norwegian-based Yarconsult.
They are said to be ideally suited to high-speed boats and catamarans because of the low weight compared with other bilge water separators on the market.
The Attica Group currently operates 32 vessels in total, across four countries and to 60 destinations, connecting 71 ports, transporting over seven million passengers, one million private cars and 400,000 freight units annually.
MRE ORDERS FOUR OFFSHORE SUPPORT BOATS
Manor Renewable Energy will add another four vessels to its growing fleet of offshore support vessels operating around the UK, rest of Europe and Asia
The four vessels will be supplied by two different shipyards - the first two boats, designed by Chartwell Marine, will be fabricated by Manor Marine, in Dorset; the second pair will be built by Strategic Marine in Singapore.
Chartwell is supplying its Hybrid Chartwell Ambitious class design, which is part of its offshore support vessel range.
Both vessels will be 25.2m aluminium catamarans featuring hybrid propulsion systems, twin marine diesel engines, electric motors, batteries and fixed pitch propellers. They will house 24 personnel plus three or four crew.
“As we are seeing increasing demand for our services, we are implementing a strong growth strategy,” said MRE Managing Director Billy Hamilton. ”Working with Manor Marine to complement our existing fleet with two new Hybrid Chartwell Ambitious vessels is the first step.”
A second step is the order for a further two vessels from Strategic Marine in Singapore.
Manor Victor and Manor Vulcan are both BMT-designed 27m aluminium catamarans powered by two Caterpillar C32 1450hp marine engines.
They each have a fuel capacity of 35,000 litres and can safely transfer crew in wave heights of 1.75m, the company says, adding that the vessel’s engine and propulsion system design means they can be made hybrid compliant on request. Thirty crew can be transferred at a time.
“Over the past year, MRE has been chartering similar vessels that have performed very well on our projects,” said Fleet Manager Michael James. ”As our yard in Portland is already full with new builds for MRE, we felt it was the right time to add these vessels to our fleet.”
The vessels should be ready for charter this August, MRE says.
8 Chartwell
Marine’s Ambitious vessel design, ordered by Manor Renewable Energy Inset: Manor Vulcan - Strategic Marine
Funds secured for H-fuelled container ship
A project to build two hydrogen-powered, remotely controlled and autonomous short sea container ships has secured funding.
Dutch logistics firm Samskip and marine robotics specialist Ocean Infinity have managed to secure €15 million in funding from Norwegian state enterprise ENOVA to build the vessels, which are planned to sail between Oslo Fjord and Rotterdam.
The funding has been secured under a project named SeaShuttle, which aims to deliver the two vessels by 2025.
Originally announced at the Nor-Shipping conference earlier this year, each vessel will
8 SeaShuttle be powered with a 3.2MW hydrogen fuel cell as its main propulsion, with diesel electric propulsion on board as back-up.
“Securing this funding provides a platform to make emissions-free container shipping a reality,” said Samskip Norway CEO Are Gråthen. “Together, Samskip and Ocean Infinity will also accelerate their plans to advance autonomous ship technologies, and remote operation of ships and cargo handling equipment. These ships are the first part of an exciting collaboration with Ocean Infinity.” ”We would like to thank Enova for their support for our vision which represents a firm endorsement of our ground-breaking approach and allows us to proceed at full speed in bringing this project to life,” said Christopffer Jorgenvag, CCO at Ocean Infinity.
EXPERIMENTAL VESSEL HINTS AT NAVAL SHIPBUILDING FUTURE
The customised Damen FCS 4008, just delivered to the Royal Navy’s ‘secret squirrel’ NavyX accelerator programme, shows the main advantage of buying vessels from stock, writes Jake Frith
Though it’s undoubtedly true that the prime movers of globalisation and NATO have been around for a while, there were murmurings of surprise or perhaps patriotic regret when the UK’s Royal Navy contracted a Dutch shipbuilder to deliver its latest high-speed vessel.
The 42m, 270-tonne ship arrived in Portsmouth at the end of July and is named after former Royal Navy sailor and Nobel Prize winner Patrick Blackett.
Deck space
Damen’s FCS (for Fast Crew Supplier) series of vessels was originally designed for the oil and gas sector, but the same basic attributes of high speed and a large and highly adaptable deck space were just as alluring to the Royal Navy’s modern warfare aspirations. Let us not forget that this design or its cousins have also had many years of real-world testing, feedback and evolutionary improvement, thus taking a lot of the risk away from the Navy’s choice.
Damen was also in the position to get the maintenance ball rolling with a comprehensive, three-year support package that will centre on the Service Hub that the company set up recently in Portsmouth and which has proved to be a big success. Locally recruited personnel will maintain the vessel using local content where possible, and knowledge will be transferred to ensure sustainability.
It will be used by the navy’s experimentation and innovation experts NavyX, who have been driving innovation across the service and testing new technology, kit and concepts with the aim of passing them quickly to the frontline.
The large aft deck will allow rapid deployment of experimental, largely unmanned technologies whether underwater, surface or air based. The extensive internal area that would have seating for up to 100 personnel in the vessel’s more usual oil and gas role has been converted into an operations centre and a meeting room. Four Caterpillar engines give it a top speed of more than 20 knots.
Part of the reason the RN went for Damen is the Dutch yard’s proven ability to deliver modified but essentially off the peg designs in a short turnaround time. Unmanned naval technologies are (understatement alert) a particularly fastmoving area of modern warfare. To keep up with this savage rate of change, any navy has to move quicker than ever when it comes to procuring ships if it isn’t going to be lumbered with expensive white elephants that are practically obsolete at launch. The procurement of the Damen 4008 has been an example of this with the boat purchased, adapted for Royal Navy use and delivered within 12 months. This is lightspeed when it comes to naval shipbuilding.
XV Patrick Blackett (XV stands for Experimental Vessel) will enable NavyX to experiment without the need to place demand on other navy ships, many of which are deployed permanently away from UK waters.
8 XV Patrick Blackett on delivery to Portsmouth, UK 8 XV Patrick
Blackett arrives off Portsmouth
Back to black
The vessel will fly the blue ensign as it is a governmentowned civilian vessel crewed by Royal Navy personnel, rather than the white ensign of a fully commissioned warship. For various bureaucratic and national security reasons this distinction will offer NavyX the chance to work more closely with industry and academia partners than in the past. To further illustrate this important distinction the vessel has also been painted in black rather than RN ‘battleship grey’.
The ship, already being referred to by defence industry commentators as a ‘sandbox warship’ with a crew of five Royal Navy personnel, will have a ‘plug and play’ element to support the navy’s new PODS (Persistently Operationally Deployed Systems) concept, which means it can be adapted to the specific trials or experiments it’s carrying out, including testing drones and autonomous vessels and AI decision-making.
It also has container secure points on the work deck so a range of payloads can be embarked, offering flexibility and a modern approach to testing.
In the future, XV Patrick Blackett will take part in Royal Navy and NATO exercises, with the possibility of it being upgraded with autonomous technology.
Colonel Tom Ryall, Head of NavyX, said: “The arrival of this vessel is a pivotal moment for NavyX’s ability to deliver output for the Royal Navy. She will give us greater flexibility to experiment with novel military capabilities, and accelerate new technology, kit and concepts to the frontline.”
‘SEACAT COLUMBIA’ ON SEA TRIAL IN THE SOLENT
The Chartwell Marine and BAR designed asymmetric- multihull CTV Seacat Columbia has been cutting a very interesting figure among the throngs of racing yachts on the UK’s South Coast, writes Jake Frith
Launched earlier in the summer by Isle of Wight boatbuilders Diverse Marine, the ground-breaking semifoiling vessel has been going through its sea trials this week. The BARTech 30 Small Waterplane Area ProA hullform has raised industry eyebrows by claiming reduced vertical accelerations by between 35% and 70%, while also offering 30% and 50% more fuel efficiency with higher sea state capability than a catamaran..
Tantalising clip
A tantalising 11-second clip on Diverse Marine’s social media pages shows the vessel doing its thing to a love it or hate it soundtrack of wailing rock guitar. What’s most notable is where the ‘small waterplane area’ nature of the vessel is apparent on video for the first time.
BAR in particular has been fairly protective in the past about exactly how the vessel will deliver its claimed improvements over a conventional catamaran CTV. Images on BAR’s website stop at the waterline, leaving naval architectural pundits wondering exactly what is going on beneath.
BAR Technologies offers a cohesive team of world-leading naval architects and optimisation specialists; fluid dynamists; mechanical, structural and composite engineers; control strategy and system specialists; and data and simulation engineers with access to the latest commercial knowledge, using bespoke in-house design tools.
It appears that the upper section of a short, narrow stabiliser hull (or ama, if we’re going to get indigenous about it), is kept at a controlled depth by a foil beneath it. It is an interesting approach as at cruising speed the water only ‘sees’ the very long and narrow main hull, a foil off to one side of it plus the support structure, or ‘mast’ of the foil.
Of interest in the still pictures also recently released by Diverse Marine is that the ama has a deeper, smaller sub hull beneath it, presumably to provide enough buoyancy to keep the vessel on an even keel when stationary – particularly important when pushing onto a turbine. This sub hull could equally be considered as a partially buoyant foil mast.
This is a clever way of achieving a level deck for the vessel from stationary and throughout the speed range, something that commercial operators would consider a ‘must have’. It is likely where the Small Waterplane Area part of the name comes from.
Actually, much more similar to a SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessel than a full foiler, it replaces the SWATH’s buoyancy bulb with the actively adjusted foil. The main hull benefits from being especially long and fine, but to be able to cater for significant and differing loads this is not a fully flying foiler in the America’s Cup sense of the word.
8 Seacat Columbia
on the Medina river, Cowes, UK
Key competencies
Controlling the lift and height of the ama, and hence the stability and safety of the boat, particularly in open sea conditions, must be a marvel of foil control technology, and this is where BAR’s Formula1 and America’s Cup experience have been critical to the project. Speaking last year to BAR’s Simon Schofield and Simon Roberts, the keys to making these sorts of boats work for the first time are advanced modelling and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
BAR builds its own systems and software to virtually test thousands of iterations of designs, long before anything hits the water, and AI-driven stabilisation systems mean that the boat can, to an extent, ‘learn’ a sea-state, and therefore the
foil stabilisation systems are not acting reactively like hydrofoil stabilisation systems of old.
This means the foils can be in the right place, or at least moving in the right direction, as a move is required, not some moments afterwards. Effectively this means the foils are leading the charge rather than constantly playing catch-up.
This new BARTech 30 design is a big shift in green vessel design and will work in tandem with Seacat Services’ existing OESVs. The operator has ordered two of these vessels - Seacat Columbia and Seacat Cambria – a real commitment to the decarbonisation of the workboat sector. Two more BARTech 30s are also in build for High Speed Transfers (HST).
Cutting emissions is one of the biggest challenges facing the offshore wind and broader maritime sector, amid rising global awareness of its environmental impact. The designers have focused instead on creating fuel efficiency through a highly optimised multi-hull design. Ultimately this will cut CO2 emissions by up to 600 tonnes a year if working on a 12-hour shift of operation.
Reduced pitch and roll
Crucially for Seacat, these improvements come at no sacrifice to operational performance. With BAR’s FOSS (Foil Optimisation and Stability System), the vessel’s ability to reduce pitch and roll while lowering vertical acceleration in 2.5m wave heights will enable greater comfort during transit and improved push-on performance during operations.
This is of growing importance as offshore wind farms move further out to sea, requiring vessels to travel further for longer while navigating more challenging conditions.
Ian Baylis, Managing Director, Seacat Services, said: “After reviewing the latest options on the market, the BARTech 30 is the first one that has met and exceeded all of our requirements, embracing efficiency gains through design, instead of relying exclusively on hybrid propulsion. Adding this vessel to our existing fleet of OESVs is a simple, effective way to get ahead on emissions reduction without interrupting our current work scope.”
Seacat Services has already been impressed by Seacat Sceptre, an earlier Diverse/ Chartwell/ BAR collaboration launched last year. This more conventional catamaran design uses BAR’s FOSS but with aftmounted active foils, delivering improved efficiency primarily through wake reduction. The BARTech 30 design has been awarded approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping, providing another class-certified, Jones Act-compliant option for vessel operators looking to enter the US offshore wind space.
Aluminium specialist shipyard Diverse is certainly living up to its name at the moment with CRC Walrus, a three-wheeled amphibious CTV for operation at the intertidal Scroby Sands windfarm, also from the pen of Chartwell Marine and in build at Cowes.
We’ll be looking at this similarly ground-breaking solution to a real-world offshore wind industry problem in a future issue.
8 The vessel’s
single outrigger hull design could herald a new direction in CTVs
Fisheries patrol catamaran ordered
A new research and patrol catamaran has been ordered for off the east coast of England.
Goodchild Marine Services Limited and Eastern Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (Eastern IFCA) have signed contracts for a new 16m research and patrol catamaran.
Eastern IFCA’s district encompasses the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and extends six nautical miles out to sea.
This patrol boat, a Lynx 16m catamaran costing £1.6m, will have an A-framelaunched RIB tender, various winches, along with sensors and sampling equipment. Not to mention an onboard laboratory to analyse samples, as science and research is fundamental to EIFCA’s work.
8 Lines plan of EIFCA boat from Goodchild
Marine
The vessel can reach speeds of 22kts and will have the latest IMO Tier III engines providing efficiency and emissions compliance.
Stephen Pierce, General Manager at Goodchild Marine Services Limited, said: “This is another example of our commitment to support our fishing industry as well as adding value to the local economy as we will use several local supply chain companies on this project”.
Julian Gregory CEO of Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority said “We are pleased that the contract for our replacement research vessel has been awarded to a local company. Not only will this enable us to be closely involved with the build process, but it also brings benefits to the local economy. The design of the new vessel will improve upon our current capabilities and a projected long service life will ensure that we get value for money”.
