Following
calls for great vessel versatility offshore Damen has developed a new concept
vessel – the Offshore
Support Vessel (OSV) 9020.
The vessel features a stable platform with lots of accommodation, good
station-keeping capability, low carbon emissions and lots of flexibility
to add mission-specific tools.
“We
were approached by several different operators at the
same time, all looking for slightly different offshore capabilities, but
similar enough that their requirements could be met with a conceptual standard
platform,” says design & proposal engineer Mark Couwenberg.
“The
thinking behind the OSV 9020 is very much in line with the Damen philosophy
of shipbuilding in series; it’s a standard product, as a result drawing
upon proven technology, that can be tailored to individual requirements
via modularisation.”
The
vessel has been designed to perform a variety of offshore tasks both at
surface level and subsea.
“The
vessel can be fitted with a moonpool-deployed saturation dive system to
allow diving operations at offshore crane, a stern A-frame and an offshore
access system. The vessel can also act as a submarine rescue vessel. For
this, submarine rescue gear is placed on deck. To ensure suitability for
this scope of work, the available vessel accommodation, manoeuvring systems
and dive support systems are crucial features.”
Accommodation
is a key feature for the success of any offshore operation. The OSV 9020
provides living space for up to 120 persons on board. Interior design is
designed to ensure those on board will quickly feel at home, with lots
of possibilities to personalise their stay on board.
“There
has been a lot of consideration to make sure the accommodation is both
functional and comfortable. For example, care has been taken to ensure
proper on board logistics, so that daily routines are as efficient as possible
and that working areas are separated from living space.”
A
helicopter deck is integrated in the design, further increasing the vessel
flexibility.
The
vessel is primarily designed to operate on DP. The complete hull, superstructure
and thruster layout is designed for this. The hull features equally good
ahead and astern performance. The vessel profile ensures low wind catch.
The four identical azimuthing thrusters are arranged symmetrically: two
on the stern and two on the bow. This ensures maximum station-keeping performance
while avoiding high noise levels in the accommodation. In addition, this
clever layout results in lower maintenance costs, lower fuel consumption
and less total installed power. Although the main benefits of the design
are seen during station-keeping, the transit performance of the vessel
is also very efficient. Speed and fuel consumption are hardly sacrificed
by the layout.
The
diesel generators are supported by a battery pack. The electric system
is designed to operate safely with closed bus-ties. This makes it safely
possible to have less engines running, resulting in reduction of fuel oil
consumption and harmful emissions with up to 20% and less maintenance.
Also
with clean, sustainable operations in mind, the vessel is fitted with a
hybrid power generation system, resulting in low emissions.
However,
the vessel can optionally be delivered to operate on green methanol, produced
from biological waste streams. This allows reduction of well-to-propeller
CO2 emissions by approximately 70%. In addition to the ease of bunkering
offered by green methanol at most ports in the world, it is easy to handle
safely on board and is cost-efficient. Additionally methanol sacrifices
very little design capacity so that the vessel does not need to be larger
to achieve similar endurance.
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