Blount Boats, Inc., Warren, R.I., has reached an agreement with South Boats Special Projects, Ltd., Cowes, U.K., that makes it the exclusive shipyard to manufacture U.S. flagged aluminum catamarans of South Boats
OSD-IMT, the U.K. arm of IJmuiden, Netherlands, based Offshore Ship Designers, has been chosen by Samsung and Boskalis-SMIT Engineering to develop the basic design, detailed design and production drawings for a 99
Vroon Group subsidiary MPI Workboats of the U.K. has placed an order for two additional offshore wind farm service vessels. They will be built at the South Boats Medina Shipyard on the
Built by Lyme Boats in the U.K., Santa Ana is a 17.5 m Incat Crowther catamaran specifically designed for the wind farm service industry. Operator P&O Maritime Services saw the potential of
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier AS, Oslo, Norway, recently entered into a contract with Norwegian shipyard Båtservice Mandal AS for the construction of four crewboats for transport of service technicians to and from offshore
Anglo-Dutch company Offshore Ship Designers has launched a new offshore wind farm maintenance vessel concept. It aims to improve the uptime of deepwater wind turbines and reduce maintenance costs and carbon emissions
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The new facility is dedicated to the growth of engine sales in the commercial marine industry. The center also houses parts and serves as a logistics hub for MTU’s marine defense customers.
The nearly 8,000-square-foot facility is located in the St. James Industrial Park just west of New Orleans.
“MTU is one of the world’s major providers of diesel engines and propulsion systems for ships, ferries, tugs, river push boats and offshore supply vessels,” says Jeff Sherman, marine sales manager for MTU Detroit Diesel. “This new location puts us closer to both new and current customers in the Gulf of Mexico and Inland Rivers.”
The new facility is in addition to a network of 25 MTU distributors and a dedicated marine service center near Alameda, Calif.
MTU Detroit Diesels is a Tognum Group subsidiary. Its marine power solutions include the Series 60, Series 2000 and Series 4000 Iron Men engines, specifically designed to meet the unique demands of workboats.
For the higher power needs of commercial and military vessels such as the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship or U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, MTU offers its Series 8000 and Series 1163 engines. The MTU marine product line up covers a power range from 350 to 12,200 bhp. MTU also offers complete marine control systems.
Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, Vice Operations Director of Song Cam Shipyard signed, together with Mr. Erik van der Noordaa, Chief Operations Officer of the Damen Shipyards Group in The Netherlands.
Song Cam Shipyard has been allocated by Vinashin to act as the local partner in the construction and operation of the new shipyard which is a joint venture between Vinashin and Damen.
Completion of the first phase of the project is planned for February 2012. In the first phase the shipyard will concentrate on the outfitting, under cover, of hulls built by Song Cam Shipyard. Capacity is approximately twelve vessels per year, all current orders are for export.
Facilities in the first phase include a 2500 ton capacity Syncrolift, an 80 m x 40 m outfitting hall and workshops and offices.
In the second phase of the five year plan, capacity will be increased to a maximum 30 tugs, workboats and high speed craft per year with a dedicated 160 m x 150 m outfitting . Sufficient room is available on the 42 hectare site for the construction of hulls as well as for sub-contractors and suppliers in the final phase of the five year plan.
More than a year in development, the Twin Axe HSSV design is a further development of Damen’s successful Sea Axe concept and the HSSV 2610 is particularly suited for offshore wind industry support.
Martijn Smit, Damen Sales Manager for Europe, says: “Given the tremendous potential growth in the offshore wind industry there is a great need for vessels to access turbines and this can often be in constraining weather conditions. We were driven to find a concept that improves on conventional catamaran designs.”
Managing Director of Marineco UK, Mike Conafray, adds: “As a company we have been monitoring the current vessels available that service the offshore wind farms but we never felt comfortable joining in with the existing vessels. When Damen came along to us with their proposals we quickly realized that by introducing them we would be able to offer the market a much enhanced vessel that would suit most of its needs.”
The Damen HSSV 2610 has been undergoing thorough testing at Delft University in the Netherlands.
“There have been ‘stunning’ results in the vessel’s seakeeping behavior, resistance and at the same time, it has much lower fuel consumption,” Mr. Smit says, adding that the design is an extension of the Damen enlarged ship concept.
“The raised work deck and sea axe bows enable the vessel to keep up its speed in a higher sea state and that is crucial for the offshore industry. And as many of the wind turbines will be located in challenging seas, this greatly extends the operating window.”
The new vessel has dimensions of 26 m x 10 m. It has accommodations for four crew and can transport 12 passengers.
Features include a 20 tm deck crane, a spacious diving platform, HP cleaning unit and extra mooring winches.
The vessel is thus suited for a diverse range of activities for supporting and supplying the offshore wind industry, as well as the wider offshore sector. Ample working and storage space on deck make it suitable for a variety of cargoes, including containers.
With a fuel capacity of 12,000 liters, t can be used tio transfer fuel to wind turbines.
Classed by Bureau Veritas, the vessel operates under the Workboat Code, Category 1.
Depending on the sea state, the maximum speed will be 26 knots with a range of 640 nm.
Currently under construction at Damen Gorinchem in the Netherlands, the vessel is expected to be ready by June 2011.
