Guido Perla & Associates, Inc. (GPA), said that orders for offshore vessels designed by the Seattle-based Naval Architecture firm have increased by 400% within the past two years.
Currently, twenty-one GPA-designed Platform Support Vessels are already serving the offshore industry. These vessels include ten 73-meter GPA 670 PSVs owned by Bourbon Offshore and built at Zheijang Shipyard in China, ten 64-meter GPA 640 PSVs owned by Rigdon Marine and built at Bender Shipyards, and one GPA 654 PSV, also owned by Rigdon Marine and built at Bollinger Shipyard. A major international oil company operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has recently chartered Rigdon’s first GPA 654 PSV that was launched in April of 2007.
Additional orders placed within the past year include:
• 28 GPA 654M ordered by Bourbon Offshore and currently under construction at Dayang Shipyard in China.
• 9 additional GPA 654 PSVs ordered by Rigdon Marine and currently under construction at Bollinger Shipyard.
• 4 GPA 670 MKII Special Products soon to be under construction at Zheijang Shipyard in China.
• 4 GPA 670 MKII ROVs ordered by Bourbon Offshore and soon to be under construction at Zheijang Shipyard in China.
• 4 GPA 670 MKIII ordered by Tidewater and soon to be under construction at Zheijang Shipyard in China.
• 54 GPA 254L Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels ordered by Bourbon Offshore and soon to be under construction at Dayang Shipyard.
• 2 GPA 640 PSVs ordered by Trico Marine and currently under construction at Bender Shipbuilding.
All GPA designed PSVs and AHTSs are equipped with environmentally friendly diesel-electric propulsion systems, which increase fuel efficiency, thus resulting in cost savings, lower emissions and higher reliability. Furthermore, all vessels are DPS-2 certified, resulting in improved station-keeping at offshore installations, thus significantly increasing crewmember safety and creating full redundancy of major components, which ultimately reduces maintenance costs.
With 21 of GPA’s PSV designs currently serving the offshore industry and an additional 105 vessels entering service within the next two years, GPA has established its position as the worldwide leader in naval architectural design of Next Generation Platform Support Vessels. In response to this increase and several other design and construction projects in other types of vessels, GPA is investing in additional staff and equipment in their Seattle and Shanghai offices to facilitate its growing clientele.