OFFSHORE SERVICE VESSELS

New Rules for Offshore Service Vessels

The technical evolution of offshore support vessels (OSV) has prompted Germanischer Lloyd (GL) to publish new rules for ships intended for offshore support and supply, offshore towing, well stimulation, and other specialized offshore services. On 1 January 2010, new Rules for Hull Structures of Offshore Service Vessels will come into force. These rules apply to ships intended for offshore support and supply, offshore towing, well stimulation, and other specialized offshore services. For these ships the class notation Offshore Service Vessel will be assigned, complemented by optional further notations, such as HNLS for ships carrying hazardous and noxious liquid substances, AH for anchor handling tug/supply ships, WSV for well stimulation vessels, and WTIS for wind turbine installation/construction support ships. Design and operation of offshore vessels differ significantly from those of general cargo ships. Comprehensive international regulations are needed to specifically account for practical demands of OSVs. The new rules reflect today's offshore support vessels. Compared to their predecessors, these ships are larger, more specialized, and technically more sophisticated to meet demands of complex deepwater field developments. The latest review of the OSV rules are intended to support design and build safer and more robust offshore service vessels while minimizing operational risks.

St. Johns Ship Building Delivers Sea Strength

St. Johns Ship Building of Palatka, Fla. delivered the offshore service vessel (OSV) Sea Strength to A. R. Singh Contractors of Point Fortin, Trinidad.  The 157-ft vessel is currently undergoing owner inspections and is available for work in the Caribbean offshore market. It operates a fleet of approximately 20 vessels including tugs, barges, crewboats and supply boats. Sea Strength Particulars: L.O.A.    157 ft. Beam (Molded)    38 ft.

Rolls-Royce Designs Selected for 53 OSV's

UT-Designs and packages of equipment from Rolls-Royce have been chosen for 53 offshore service vessels (OSVs) during the past year. The transaction represents 70 percent of orders placed during the year and is the largest in this sector of the company since the mid-1970s. Twelve of these vessels were ordered just before the end of 2000 and will be worth $57.9 million to Rolls-Royce - bringing the total value of these contracts to the company to $246.3 million.

Bourbon Orders 56 PSVs

In line with its strategy in modern offshore, Bourbon is expanding its fleet with next-generation, innovative and high-productivity vessels to assist its oil and gas clients in the development of their deepwater and continental offshore operations. On February 28 in the context of its Horizon 2010 plan, Bourbon announced investments of $1.8b, 85 percent of which will be devoted to the Offshore Division. Since January 1, Bourbon has placed the first series of orders

ECO Fleet to be Outfitted with Autoload

Autoship Systems Corporation announced that Edison Chouset Offshore LLC (ECO) of Galliano, LA, USA has chosen to have their offshore fleet of vessels outfitted with the Autoload onboard stability program. “The delivery of the Autoload software will be a staged roll-out for the ECO fleet. The initial install is set for 68 of the latest-delivered and soon-to-be delivered vessels. Staging after this group will be the remainder of the ECO deepwater fleet, inclusive of PSVs

Rolls-Royce Secures Two OSV Design Contracts

Rolls-Royce, a global power systems company, today announced that it has won a £15 million order to provide design, integrated power and propulsion systems and equipment for two offshore service vessels for ship owner Island Offshore. The contract includes options of four additional vessels.   Per Kristian Furø, Rolls-Royce General Sales Manager – Offshore said: “We have worked very closely with Island Offshore over the last decade to develop a wide range of

Aries Marine Announces New Build Program

Court Ramsay, President and CEO of Lafayette, La. based Aries Marine Corporation, announced in a joint statement with Eastern Shipbuilding Group that a Letter of Intent has been signed to begin construction of two Tiger shark class PSVs. The first vessel will be named the M/V Dwight S. Ramsay after CFO/owner and founder of Aries Marine. The M/V Dwight S. Ramsay will be Eastern Shipbuilding and Aker Yards latest innovation in a high capacity, fuel efficient

Kongsberg Launches DPS for Workboat Market

Last month Kongsberg Marine launched the Compact DP Series from Kongsberg Maritime. A solution for the smaller vessel and operator, it offers a complete DP class 1 solution for dynamically positioned vessels and is designed to meet the requirements of Offshore Service Vessels and workboats. The system consists of two main components, the cPos and cJoy, both of which use Kongsberg RCU technology, within the (cPos or cJoy) Compact Controller

German Maritime, Offshore Industries Strengthens

“We continue to be successful in world markets and have also found new customers in attractive niches in 2011. At the same time, our regular customers are now again ordering not only in the newbuilding segment but precisely also in the retrofit area,” said Dr. Alexander Nürnberg, Chairman of VDMA Marine and Offshore Equipment Industries, at a late 2011 press conference held in Hamburg. The German maritime economy is an essential industrial sector

Bordelon Marine Debuts Stingray Class OSV

The story of Bordelon Marine is not far afield from many others in the Gulf of Mexico, that of a small, family owned business carving a niche for itself. But when Wes Bordelon joined his namesake company in 1999, he knew that change was essential for survival. More than a dozen years later, MarineNews sat in Bordelon Marine’s brand new shipyard in Houma, La., a month before the debut of its Stingray class of offshore service vessel