The Finnish marine solutions provider Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract to supply the design and an integrated solution for[ds_preview] a new large platform supply vessel (PSV). The ship will operate primarily on Liquefied Natural Gas and is owned by Siem Offshore, a Norwegian provider of marine services to the oil and gas industry. It will be operated under charter by Norske Shell. The PSV is being built at the Remontowa shipyard in Poland.
The contract’s scope of supply includes the Wärtsilä VS 4411 LNG PSV initial, basic, and detailed ship design, as well as the complete diesel-electric system with Wärtsilä dual-fuel generating sets, the LNGPac gas storage and handling system, and the complete electrical and automation system, including a four-split Wärtsilä LLC (Low Loss Concept) solution. The latter will help the vessel fulfil the highest possible Environmental Regularity Number (ERN) of 99.99.99.99., which represents the ship’s capability for maintaining its position and normal operations under certain weather conditions.
The 89.2 m long vessel is scheduled to commence operations in 2015 and will be used to support offshore drilling and production activities in the North Sea. It can accommodate a crew of 25.
According to Wärtsilä, this latest order emphasises the company’s front runner status in the LNG PSV design market. During the past year, for example, three major oil companies have chosen Wärtsilä’s LNG PSV design and integrated solution for their North Sea tenders.
»This line of success dates back ten years, when the first two LNG PSVs designed by Wärtsilä for operations in the North Sea were chartered by Norwegian oil company Statoil,« the Finnish technology supplier said in a statement.
The recent order follows a similar one placed in November 2012 with the same scope of supply for another PSV owned by Siem Offshore. Almost half of the vessels in the operator’s fleet already feature Wärtsilä ship designs and equipment.
