System Contract News

Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) has ordered Zinus’ autonomous charging solution for electrification of the ferry connections Bognes-Skarberget and Drag-Kjøpsvik in Nordland county – above the Arctic Circle.From December 1, 2022, both routes will be operated by the ferry company Fjord1. Bognes-Skarberget is an important part of the E6, the main thoroughfare through northern Norway, while the 15-kilometer-long crossing from Drag to Kjøpsvik will be the longest electrified ferry connection in Norway.

James Fisher and Sons said its subsidiary JFD has been awarded a multimillion dollar contract for the design and build of submarine rescue equipment but no further details are yet available. The company recently completed the delivery of a range of saturation diving products rated to a depth of 500 meters for a leading offshore service provider, a world first. The products were developed as part of a saturation diving system and include environmental control systems, gas reclaim and life support products…

ABB has won its first marine automation system contract for a cruise ferry in China, after the technology package for Chinese-built Viking Line vessel has been extended to include the ABB Ability System 800xA.ABB Ability System 800xA integrates power, propulsion and vessel management systems into one platform, enabling both crew and onshore teams to get a comprehensive overview of all the information needed to operate the vessel in the safest and most efficient manner. Adding marine automation to the technology package will improve project management…

Fifteen production floaters were contracted in 2017 – 11 FPSOs, two production semis, a wellhead TLP and an FLNG – and the number of deep water projects in the near-term planning queue indicates production floater orders are set to accelerate. This is a big change from 2016 when orders for new units totally dried up and the deepwater future looked pretty bleak. Here’s a round-up of contracts awarded last year and in January 2018. Tempera FPSO - Keppel in January 2017 received a contract from Dixstone Holdings…

The Coast Guard's Command, Control and Communications Engineering Center (C3CEN) awarded a contract to FLIR Maritime US, Inc., of Nashua, New Hampshire, Wednesday, for the Scalable Integrated Navigation System, Two (SINS-2). The single award Firm Fixed Price Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract is valued at $50 million and consists of a five-year base with a five-year option. The total period of performance is 10 years. The Coast Guard originally procured legacy SINS for a portion of the small boat fleet in 2002, and the original components have significantly exceeded their life expectancy. Efforts to refresh legacy SINS began in August 2013 with revising the system’s required specifications…

Norwegian ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin said it has secured a two-system contract with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The agreement, which Optimarin said comes ahead of its imminent USCG approval, will see two 500 m³/h capacity Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS) fitted on a single clean products barge. “The ability to trade in U.S. waters is key to global shipowners who want flexibility for their fleets,” comments Optimarin CEO Tore Andersen.

Two new landmarks at the Port of Ngqura, which are part of ongoing developments to position the port as a container transhipment hub for Sub-Saharan Africa, were officially launched by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) today. The new landmarks are the port’s state-of-the-art administration building and an administration craft basin for pilot boats and tugboats, including office facilities for operational staff working on these craft. Also included in TNPA’s latest R700 million investment into the port is the vacuum based automated mooring technology pioneered at Ngqura last year.

Fleet of 12 submarines to be built in South Australia; decision has political implications at home, abroad. France has beaten Japan and Germany to win a A$50 billion ($40 billion) deal to build a fleet of 12 submarines for Australia, one of the world's most lucrative defence contracts, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Tuesday. The victory for state-owned naval contractor DCNS Group underscored France's strengths in developing a compelling military-industrial bid, and is a blow for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to develop defence export capabilities as part of a more muscular security agenda. Reuters earlier reported that DCNS would be announced as the winner, citing sources with knowledge of the process.

No question that the market for new floating production systems has taken a battering. The past 12 to 18 months have been a difficult period for everyone in the business sector. Absence of new contracts has forced fabricators and equipment suppliers to make huge cutbacks in personnel and spending. But deepwater production will rebound – oil demand keeps growing -- and though the signs are mixed we see indications of the rebound starting. First some numbers about the state of the business. 261 oil/gas floating production units are currently installed on offshore fields.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visited the Port of Savannah on Thursday, for an update on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP). "The SHEP will create economic opportunity not only across Georgia, but throughout the Southeast," said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. The harbor deepening, currently in the construction phase, will deepen the shipping channel from 42 to 47 feet at mean low water. This will allow today's larger, more efficient vessels to transit the channel with heavier loads and greater scheduling flexibility.

Scandlines ferries designed with battery hybrid propulsion to operate on the Rostock-Gedser commercial route. Corvus Energy, Siemens AS and Scandlines have announced the award of the energy storage system contract for the M/V Berlin and M/V Copenhagen battery hybrid ferries currently being built at the Danish shipyard FAYARD. The new vessels M/V Berlin and M/V Copenhagen will each use a 1,050VDC, 1.5MWh Energy Storage System (ESS) consisting of 231 Corvus Energy AT6500 advanced lithium polymer batteries. The batteries will be integrated with a Siemens converter system and together they form an Energy Storage System that will be powered by four diesel gensets (one less than a non-hybrid design).

Nordic Yards in Wismar, Germany, has awarded Kongsberg Maritime a contract to deliver an Integrated Vessel Control System for a newbuild 80m Wind Turbine Service Jack-Up Vessel, owned by Danish offshore services specialist, DBB Jack-Up. The integrated 'Full Picture' solution covers navigation, automation and manoeuvring systems, and will be one of the first to feature Kongsberg Maritime's recently launched LAN-based Radar system. The new radar concept, K-Bridge 'Composite Picture' Radar CP360, is an integral part of the K-Bridge navigation system to be installed.

Kongsberg was awarded an offshore integrated monitoring and control system contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). The contract covers deliveries to four Transocean owned newbuild drillships, with an option for Kongsberg to deliver products and services for six more drillships. "We call this a 'full picture' solution, as it includes dynamic positioning, position reference systems, thruster control, integrated automation systems, riser management and environmental monitoring within the same project.

A £46m contract to support and maintain a new combat system across the Royal Navy's submarine fleet awarded to BAE Systems. The Design Services Arrangement contract will ensure that the system, which is used to navigate vessels as well as gather intelligence and defend against attacks, is maintained and developed over the next decade. The Royal Navy operates three classes of submarine, totalling 10 vessels, which are used to safeguard the UK's interests around the world. Currently, different combat systems are used across the fleet.

Based on planned IMO compliance deadlines, over 50,000 merchant ships will need to install certified BWT systems by 2016 or 2017; that’s about 10,000 ships per year for five or so years after ratification. Optimarin, a world leader of ballast water treatment systems, is setting its sights on retrofits and newbuilds that represent great opportunity for future business growth. Optimarin today announced global expansion of its company after a period of significant activity, securing BWT system contract wins with a number of major ship owners to be delivered over the next few years.

Aker Kvaerner has been awarded a contract with Discoverer Invest Ltd in Singapore for delivery of drilling systems and equipment to a Frigstad D90 ultra deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig. The total contract value for Aker Kvaerner is approximately NOK 450 million. The drilling package will consist of a dual version of the RamRig, an advanced drilling system developed by Aker Kvaerner. This system enables significantly more efficient drilling operations compared with conventional systems, particularly in deep waters. The deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig is scheduled for delivery in 2009.

Technip has been awarded by Husky Oil Operations Limited, a subsidiary of Husky Energy, a major engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract for the development of the White Rose oil field’s North Amethyst Satellite. The contract is worth approximately €190 million. It includes engineering, fabrication and installation of 23.7 kilometers of flexible flowlines(1) and 5.4 kilometers of umbilicals(2), the installation of manifolds and associated pipework. Technip’s operating center in , will execute this contract. The flowlines will be manufactured at one of the Group’s flexible pipe plants, in . The umbilicals will be manufactured at one of the Group’s umbilical plants, in .

OceanWorks International has been awarded a design, manufacturing and test contract to provide Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) with a Subsea Dispersant Fluid System (SDFS). The system will further enhance MWCC’s existing dispersant injection system, also developed and manufactured by OceanWorks International. The SDFS is designed to sit on the seabed in the proximity of a subsea well at depths of up to up to 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) and provides the capability to deliver dispersant fluid to a deepwater well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The system is designed to allow the dispersant flow to be provided by either a surface vessel or autonomously based on ROV provided flow input.

SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas, S.A. and Guangzhou Marine Engineering Corporation (GUMECO) have recently signed a contract for the right to use the FORAN System in the facilities from GUMECO.   The scope of supply covers all the disciplines and corresponding training for GUMECO personnel. Training has been completed and now GUMECO has already started to use FORAN for new design projects. The FORAN System has thus become the main design toolset at GUMECO, and will be used for their future ship projects. The contract represents a successful move forward for FORAN System in the growing Chinese Shipbuilding Industry.

FRC Photo Credit: USCGThe U.S. Coast Guard has terminated the Deepwater Fast Response Cutter-B acquisition currently with Integrated Coast Guard Systems and reassigned the project to the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate. The project is for twelve patrol boats scheduled for delivery beginning Spring 2010. ICGS, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, was notified of the decision earlier today. “This decision is based on the Coast Guard’s ongoing commitment to improve management of the Integrated Deepwater System contract, to achieve best value for taxpayers and the government, and give Coast Guard men and women the capable assets they need to save lives, secure our maritime borders, and protect the environment,” said Adm.

Raytheon Anschütz wins contract to supply NautoSteer advanced steering gear control systems for two Fincantieri cruise ship new-buildings. Raytheon Anschütz is to supply a Standard 22 gyro compass system, the brand-new NautoSteer AS Steering Gear Control, and the autopilot NautoPilot 5300 which comes  with a color touch display and fuel saving capabilities such as weather adaptivity and a heading and rudder plotter. The Princess Cruises newbuilds will be equipped with a main steering control system consisting of follow-up bustillers, a handwheel and the adaptive autopilot NP 5300.

OceanWorks International contracted by the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) to establish project cable termination in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. The project contract includes the design, manufacture and integration of the subsea instrumentation, shore station, and commissioning. FORCE is deploying four power cables to connect prototype in-stream tidal turbines to a dedicated electrical sub-station. By providing this infrastructure, it is lowering the 'barrier to entry' for turbine manufactures to test their equipment in one of the most demanding tidal environments.

OceanSaver announced the signing of the world’s first major Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) contract for large ships. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has secured OceanSaver Ballast Water Management Systems for three supertankers (VLCCs) on order for Oman Shipping Company (OSC). The contract is the first of its kind and signifies a breakthrough for IMO’s Ballast Water Management convention as well as for OceanSaver. The contract is for supply of OS BWMS 6000 EX onboard three 317,000 dwt tankers currently on order at HHI for OSC. OS BWMS 6000 EX treats 6000 m3 ballast water per hour. Fit-for-purpose ballast water management systems have been the company’s sole focus since 2002.