OSD knows how to handle LNG A

• In this issue: Symbiotic collaboration with IHC Merwede
• Newsletter Apri
Aprill 2013
2013
• New office for OSD-IMT
• IMT982 launched in Spain
OSD knows
how to handle
LNG
A
nyone who works in the industry
knows it; International shipping is
a heavily regulated industry,
operating under a complex set of international and domestic regulations. In the
coming years we will see more and more
regulations with significant implications
for the shipping industry. Managing the
impact of these regulations will become
one of the key challenges for ship owners
and operators.
One of the main issues is emissions to air.
Apart from the IMO’s Tier III standards, more
and more countries will establish Emission
Control Areas (ECA’s) in an effort to reduce
SOx, NOx and CO2 emissions.
To achieve improved energy efficiency, the
IMO has also implemented the Energy
Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for ship
design. The energy efficiency of most new
buildings will have to be improved by 30%
in 2025, and better energy/fuel efficiency
is one way to reduce these emissions. To
further improve energy efficiency, ship design has to be more innovative than ever to
find more efficient means of propulsion and
improve hull forms to reduce drag.
Offshore Ship Designers is at the forefront
of these developments. In 2008, OSD was
already working on the development of
a design for a near-zero emission hydrogen
powered tug. This concept design is fitted
with fuel cells, hydrogen tanks and battery
packs, and has a CFD optimized hull form.
www.offshoreshipdesigners.com
Although the market isn’t ready to use fuel
cell power for harbour tugs yet, OSD gained
a wealth of knowledge from this Greentug ©
project and used it for the development of
their Azistern tug series. To become greener, OSD also developed a diesel electric
driven tug and many OSD designed OSV’s
are fitted with diesel electric optimised
power generation systems.
One of the options to further reduce SOx
emissions on ships, is the use of LNG as the
main fuel. However, LNG bunkering infrastructure still has to improve significantly
and price competitiveness of LNG compared to oil products is insecure. Another issue is the lower energy density of LNG compared to Diesel. This means vessels need
to refuel more often compared to vessels
which run on the same amount of diesel. In
many cases vessels still need diesel gensets
for backup power. As a consequence,
added to the large LNG installation, there
must be diesel onboard and there must be
room for scrubbers and SCR systems. This
takes up a lot of space onboard.
Last but not least, the design must cater
for the explosive nature of LNG vapour by
incorporating adequate ventilation to all
areas where LNG is piped.
Compared to diesel however, LNG reduces
SOx and Particulate matter by 90-95%. NOx
emissions are reduced up to 90% and CO2
up to 25%. Engine manufacturers are constantly working on better LNG engines and
will develop smaller LNG driven gensets. As
emission regulations become stricter, LNG
will become more interesting for owners and
operators.
This is why OSD-IMT is already working on
LNG solutions for offshore vessels and
passenger ferries. OSD in the Netherlands
is developing the LNG Azistern tug, carefully cooperating with a client who wants
to keep up with the latest developments.
They know OSD is the right party to join up
with when it comes to tailored innovative
design. With such innovative designs, OSD
is ready for the future.
[email protected] •
Newsletter April 2013
page 02
IHC and OSD collaborate
on new support vessel design
pre-strengthened to accommodate
a 100-tonne heave-compensated crane.
The large deck can carry various mission
spreads, including diving support, ROV
operation and cable-laying, with portable
equipment designed and manufactured
by IHC Merwede or as specified by the
customer.
Denis Welch, CEO of IHC
Asia Pacific
I
HC Merwede is a highly innovative
company. It is dedicated to the development of design and construction activities for the maritime sector. It is the global
market leader for building and designing
efficient offshore, dredging and mining vessels for the marine industries, and a proven
supplier of custom-built ships and supplies
for offshore construction.
As part of its continuing evolvement, IHC
Merwede is also open to partnering with
acknowledged external design experts in
specialist areas, as witnessed by its recent
collaboration with Offshore Ship Designers
in connection with a new series of Packhorse offshore support vessels for IHC Asia
Pacific, a subsidiary of IHC Merwede.
The OSD-designed vessels consist of the
IHC Packhorse, which has been positioned
as a platform supply vessel, and the IHC
Packhorse-Maxi, a variant on the basic hull
form which offers a whole new dimension
by providing a range of options designed
for subsea support on IRM work, light
construction and cable-laying projects.
Denis Welch, CEO of IHC Asia Pacific, says,
“IHC is present in all the major areas of
the world which have a significant marine
and offshore profile. It is more than just a
shipbuilder, and is dedicated to providing
its customers with practical solutions when
and where they are needed.
“IHC Merwede is widely recognized as
an international company headquartered
in the Netherlands. But it is also committed,
as part of its long-term strategy, to further
strengthening its identity in the Asia Pacific
sector, delivering innovative solutions to
customers in the region which embrace
both custom-built and bespoke designs.
The Packhorse design initiative reinforces
the company's internationalisation strategy,
which aims to provide a choice of designs
and build locations to its customers on
a global basis.
“IHC invests heavily in a wide range of
R&D initiatives. Although our strategy has
traditionally been to use our highly skilled
and experienced in-house design team to
develop efficient solutions, we are always
open to collaboration with independent
In its pure PSV form, the IHC Packhorse represents a vessel which has been optimised
through discussions with operators and
charter companies to meet the needs of
deep-drilling and deep-water support. Its
main features are a large working deck,
a fuel-efficient hull form, optimised power
distribution and a flexible tank configuration.
The same platform is used for the IHC
Packhorse-Maxi, which has dual-stability
for operation as a non-SPS PSV at deeper
draughts. It has also been designed for the
easy retrofitting of a heli-deck and is
IHC Packhorse
www.offshoreshipdesigners.com
design consultants. Such was the case with
OSD and the IHC Packhorse design, which
we launched in Singapore earlier this year.
“OSD has established a first-class reputation in its specialist areas of operation,
and our experience of working with them
on this new, exciting design has been extremely positive and encouraging. Indeed,
it has been an absolute joy, on both a professional and personal level. We see this
collaboration as a very important development in progressing innovative design
initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.
“OSD are specialists in a market sector
where we have not been involved previously. Their expertise and accessibility have
been invaluable in connection with the IHC
Packhorse ships, and we are looking at the
possibility of further co-operation centered
on anchor-handling tugs and light
construction vessels.”
IHC Merwede is genuinely excited by the
prospects for the Packhorse series, and
envisages a healthy level of demand for
these versatile vessels, which will initially be
built through a co-operation agreement
established between IHC Merwede and
Jaya Holdings.
Denis Welch concludes, “The global
economic downturn has clearly had an
effect on the shipping and offshore industries, and has undoubtedly led to some
irresponsible competition in the shipbuild-
page 03
Newsletter April 2013
In memoriam
Daniel Wang RIPPLES
What else is making waves in
the industry
OSD-IMT head office moves
into new premises
I
IHC Packhorse-Maxi
ing sector. But we are confident that companies which have invested heavily in technology and R&D, and which are pursuing
long-term strategies to provide excellence
and innovation in key areas, will endure and
prosper. IHC Merwede is certainly in it for the
long haul, and co-operating with first-class
service and technology providers such as
OSD will remain part of our ongoing plans.”
t is with great
regret that
we chronicle
the death of
mr. Daniel
Wang. Daniel
passed away in his hometown Nantong on
November 28, 2012 at the age of 39.
He was our highly valued partner in
Offshore Ship Designers Shanghai Ltd.
His death is a great loss to the group and
all our Chinese colleagues, including our
local manager Eric Zhang. We will continue
to run our Chinese office in Daniel's spirit in
order to be of service to our clients.
IMT982 Grampian Sovereign
launched
T
he largest ship ever built by The Craig
Group, an S-class Platform Supply
Vessel (PSV) designed by OSD-IMT,
was launched in December 2012 at the
Balenciaga Shipyard in northern Spain.
The vessel has been designed specifically
to support the North Sea operational
requirements of Talisman Energy (UK).
The Grampian Sovereign and its sister ship,
Grampian Sceptre, are managed by the
Craig Group division North Star Shipping.
The vessels are 83 m long with an 18 m
beam and have diesel electric propulsion
www.offshoreshipdesigners.com
systems offering greater fuel economy and
efficiency. They have an operating deadweight of 2,550 tonnes and are powered
by four MAK 9M20 1450 kW engines driving
two Steerprop 1900 kWe Azimuths.
North Star managing director, Callum
Bruce, says, "We are always looking at ways
to modernise our fleet through newbuildings, using the most up-to-date vessel technology and designs as we aim to meet our
customers' needs in terms of safety, quality
and efficiency."
In December 2012, the OSD-IMT head
office in Scotland moved from Montrose
to Dundee. The new office and surrounding environment and facilities offer better added value for clients and staff alike.
The Dundee office is more spacious than
the premises in Montrose, affording room
for further growth, and Dundee is centrally
located between the major cities of
Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
POET orders two more Azistern
2400 series tugs
POET (Pacific Ocean Engineering &
Trading Pte Ltd) have contracted OSD
to supply the design for two Azistern 2465
tugboats, based on the recently delivered
Azistern 2460 tugs. Like the first two in this
series, which were delivered to POET last
December, both vessels will be built in
China under BV supervision. The particular
advantage of these vessels is that they
have the capabilities of larger tugboats,
whilst due to their comparatively small size
(less than 24 m load line length), they will
encounter lower operational costs. The
overall length of the boats will be 25.85 m,
with a beam of 10.80 m. Two Caterpillar
3512-C main engines and Schottel
azimuthing thrusters produce a bollard pull
of 65 tons and service speed of 11.5 knots.
The boats have capacity for 110 cu m of
fuel oil and 25 cu m of fresh water. Both
vessels will be outfitted with class-1 firefighting equipment. The Azistern 2400 series
can be upgraded to 70 tonnes BP.
Newsletter April 2013
page 04
Designed for life
E
cho Zheng was born in Changsha, in
Hunan Province, south-central China,
surrounded by mountains. But she
regards Singapore as her home now, having
joined OSD in February 2012 as a design
engineer.
Echo was always going to be involved
with designing ships. In 2004 she got her
bachelor degree from Harbin Engineering
University in northern China, majoring in naval architecture and offshore engineering.
Before joining OSD she worked as a hull design engineer at Chinese shipyard GSI and
at the Korean shipyard, DSME, and as a naval
architect for Singapore-based shipowner
Britoil and ship and offshore engineering
consultancy Pape Engineering.
Echo loves her job at OSD. She says,
“It enables me to combine my interests and
to further my education in both a practical and academic way. My work as a ship
designer means I get to make drawings
and carry out calculations. Meanwhile,
I am taking a masters degree course in
maritime studies at Nanyang Technical
University in Singapore. The work at OSD
is challenging and rewarding, and I get a
really good feeling being able to work with
a team of experienced and excellent ship
design engineers. It is also important to me
that I have the opportunity to continue
my education at university. You can never
know too much.”
Echo enjoys working with ships, and she
appreciates being part of a team of
“friendly colleagues” in what has now
become the familiar surroundings of OSD
in Singapore. She says, “My ideal life is to
keep working hard and to keep learning,
and to spend time with my family when I
am not working. We like to travel during
holiday times. Working, studying , and taking care of my family occupy pretty much
all of my time. Some people might find that
boring, but I like a busy and settled life.
“Singapore is our home now. We have a
four-year-old son, and he and my husband
are very keen on football. We are Liverpool
fans. One of the things which excites and
fascinates me is the fact that my son has
also started to show a great interest in
propellers. It must run in the family!”
Echo is enjoying life, and is excited about
the future. “Nothing is impossible if you
have a willing heart,” she says. “I really
believe that.”
Echo Zheng
IMT952 Seismic Support Vessel launched
Bourbon Petrel, the first in a series of six
IMT952 fuel-efficient seismic support vessels building for leading offshore marine
services provider, BOURBON, was launched in Dubai on 10 December, 2012.
The 53 m vessels, which are being built at
Dubai’s Grandweld Shipyards, have a
fuel-efficient hybrid propulsion system
delivering a flexible economic solution for
the variable operating conditions required
to support seismic survey vessels, including
transit speed, slow speed escort and
support work and a high degree of
manoeuvrability.
Offshore Ship Designers is a global one-stop resource delivering naval architecture and marine engineering expertise to the
shipping and offshore industries.
Contact Offshore Ship Designers Sluisplein 42, 1975 AG IJmuiden, The Netherlands, www.offshoreshipdesigners.com
Headoffice Phone: +31 255 545 070, E-mail: [email protected]
UK offices Phone: +44 1382 317 120, E-mail: [email protected]
Singapore office Phone: +65 (0) 6265 1154, E-mail: [email protected]
Shanghai office Phone: +86 215 851 3412, E-mail: [email protected]
www.offshoreshipdesigners.com