Blue Guardian Ready for the North Sea

The platform supply vessel Blue Guardian was delivered from Ulstein to Blue Ship Invest on June 28, 2013. The vessel is contracted to work in the North Sea.

Blue Guardian is the fifth in a series of six platform supply vessels (PSV) of the PX121 design from Ulstein Verft, and the vessel is under the management of Remøy Shipping. From mid-July, the ship has been contracted by Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA and Repsol Exploration respectively, to support the jack-up rig Maersk Giant in its work on two subsea wells on the Norwegian continental shelf in the North Sea.

Captain Trygve Valø and chief engineer Jens-Kristian Rusten have been stationed at the yard the past two months as inspectors for Remøy Shipping. Both have previously worked on board the first of the six vessels, Blue Fighter.

Blue Guardian has a length of 83.4 meters and a beam of 18 meters, and keeps a maximum speed of approximately 16 knots. She has a load capacity of 4,200 tons (dwt), and the 850-square-meter cargo deck can carry a deck load of 2,200 tons. In addition to tanks for oil, water and drilling fluids, the vessel has four stainless steel tanks for flammable liquids. Blue Guardian has modern accommodation for 23 persons, is equipped with a dynamic positioning system IMO class II and meets the requirements of DNV’s Clean Design notation.

The latest vessels in the series have been adapted to requirements for work in the Norwegian sector. That includes more power in order to keep position in foul weather at rig, and NOx reduction for the exhaust emissions. In addition, the latest vessels carry the light ice class (ICE-C), to be prepared for work further north.

In the North Sea, PSVs of the PX121 design are considered medium-sized. The vessels of this design have an optimal combination of fuel-efficiency and deadweight. They have the capacities and performance close to the segment for larger PSVs, but at a cost that provides excellent value-for-money.

The vessels’ X-BOW hull line design offers efficiency over a wide draught range, which is important for PSVs as they frequently operate with varying loads. Moreover, the X-BOW has unique, beneficial qualities in terms of motion and propulsion efficiency in heavy seas. Both the hull and choice of propulsion system make the vessels particularly suited for North Sea and North Atlantic conditions.

Ulstein Power & Control has delivered the electrical systems on board, including power distribution and electrical propulsion system, the information and communication system Ulstein COM, modular consoles, integrated navigation systems and the integrated automation system Ulstein IAS.

The first ship in this series was delivered in 2012, and all four of the previously delivered vessels to Blue Ship Invest have entered into firm contracts.