Offshore Service Vessels Design Innovation
It could be argued that no other sector of the maritime market has experienced a design innovation revolution quite like the Offshore Service Vessel (OSV) market. Driven by demands to supply people, gear and goods to offshore installations that are increasingly further from shore in deeper waters, today’s OSV is a far cry from those built only a decade ago. Maritime Reporter examines some of the recent innovations in design and function. Deepwater operations are increasingly demanding more personnel offshore, often for longer periods of time, placing a greater emphasis on crew accommodation.
ABB PLC-Drives Propel Specialized PSVs
Modular liquid-cooled drives and PLCs from ABB have been included in VARD ELECTRO’s innovative, application-specific propulsion and thruster power solutions for offshore supply vessels. The electric motor propulsion technology designed by VARD ELECTRO is used on a series of six platform-supply vessels (PSVs) - the first two of which currently are being built in Japan. Twenty years ago, in response to growing global competition and demands for ever-more sophisticated propulsion performance, the innovative shipbuilding group VARD decided to bring their systems integration function in-house.
