ABB supplies solutions for heavy lift pipelayer

DECEMBER 9, 2014 — A 5,000T heavy-lift pipelay construction vessel on order at China’s Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co., Ltd (WSIC) is to have an ABB equipment package that includes electrical propulsion, power, safety and automation systems.

These systems will be integrated and run on a single control system platform. By integrating power and automation on the vessel, overall efficiency, safety and reliability will be increased. This will be ABB’s first delivery of a power and propulsion system fully integrated with the 800xA automation solution for this type of vessel.

Designed for used in ultra-deep waters, the vessel requires the highest levels of accuracy, precision and availability. The owner and operators therefore required more integration and easier interface for multi- system control.

The ABB response will combine electric propulsion and electrical & automation systems to be integrated and controlled by ABB’s flagship System 800xA distributed control system (DCS) platform. Additionally, ABB’s advanced power system is capable of achieving the requirements needed to run the solution with closed bus in DP3 operations.

“Modern ships feature an increasing number of advanced systems, such as power, automation, advisory and safety,” says Heikki Soljama, head of ABB’s Marine and Cranes business unit. “When all these systems are integrated, the advantages are significant: reduced investment costs, optimized maintenance, improved power control and equipment availability. The selection of ABB’s integrated solution for a demanding project like this is a strong endorsement of our offering.”

The vessel will be delivered in Q1 2018, and is designed for pipelaying, heavy lifting and subsea construction operations