ULSTEIN Sells 100th X-BOW Design
With the latest contract for two offshore wind service vessels for Bernhard Schulte/WINDEA Offshore, ULSTEIN has achieved 100 sales of the X-BOW hull line design. The milestone was achieved 10 years after the launch of the X-BOW design in 2005.
Following the sales to Bourbon Offshore Norway of the second and third ship designs featuring X-BOW, Group CEO Gunvor Ulstein was asked by the media whether the hull design was now a success. "Come back when we've sold 100," Gunvor said in reply.
"We can now see that X-BOW has been a huge success in the more recent history of ULSTEIN. When we sold our UT design to Rolls-Royce in 1999, we decided to build a new design portfolio and quickly came up with the concept for the new hull design," said Deputy Group CEO, Tore Ulstein.
"Tank testing showed that this was something worth investing in," Tore Ulstein explained. "The characteristics of the first ships with this hull design allowed them to sail in heavy seas at higher speeds, or to maintain their speed while consuming less fuel. At the same time, you avoided bow impact from waves, which increases comfort for the crew on board. Also, the waves do not climb over the top of the hull. Also, there is less spray being generated, meaning there is less ice formation in cold waters - something that is very important from a safety perspective."
The ships for Bernhard Schulte/WINDEA will be built at Ulstein Verft.
First with X-STERN
The new contract with Bernhard Schulte/WINDEA also marks the market entry of X-STERN.
"ULSTEIN invests more than NOK 100 million into innovation and creation on an annual basis. X-STERN is a good example of this, and it's naturally great news that X-BOW number 100 will also be the first to feature the new X-STERN innovation," Tore Ulstein said.
X-BOW and X-STERN ensure reduced pitching and wave drift power, and eliminate slamming, and also reduces power and fuel consumption when the ship is in position and when it is in transit.