This will be the fourth vessel Havyard Design & Solutions in Herøy has designed for ESVAGT. The first three ships, of the Havyard 832 SOV type, have been delivered/will be delivered from Havyard's own yard in Leirvik in Sogn. The new design will be delivered by the Spanish yard Astilleros Zamakona, which has also built ships for ESVAGT before. The new contract also includes the delivery of a large equipment package consisting, among other things, of propulsion system, navigation, automation and dynamic positioning system (DP). The vessel is scheduled for delivery from the yard in May 2017.
A loyal customer in renewable energy
Vice President Sales Gisle Vinjevoll Thrane at Havyard Design & Solutions is very satisfied with Havyard's strategy for succeeding in different segments, something this contract confirms.
'We have been developing designs for other markets for several years in addition to ships for offshore oil production,' says Thrane. 'We are doing this both in order to be less vulnerable to fluctuations in the offshore market, and in order to utilise our expertise from offshore vessels in other markets. Our expertise, methods and tools in ship design can be used for many types of vessels, and we must take advantage of that. This enables us to offer designs to customers that operate in different segments and to new customers in segments where we have not been present before.'
'ESVAGT is a customer of this kind. It operates in several segments where we can offer designs for various ship types,' Thrane continues. 'ESVAGT has ships for emergency response in relation to offshore oil production, oil spill response, personnel transport and support vessels for offshore wind power production. Havyard can offer designs for most of these ship types. Havyard's yard in Leirvik in Sogn has already delivered two wind farm service vessels of Havyard design and another is currently under construction. We are very pleased that ESVAGT has chosen yet another Havyard design, and our goal is to continue to deliver products that will result in ESVAGT continuing to see us as its long-term partner in the development of its fleet. We are also very happy to be able to continue our excellent collaboration with Astilleros Zamakona, which has already delivered three standby vessels of Havyard design from its yard in Spain. Zamakona has also delivered an advanced standby vessel for ESVAGT before, so a good foundation for cooperation has already been laid,' concludes Vice President Sales Gisle Vinjevoll Thrane.
Long-term collaboration: Gisle Vinjevoll Thrane from Havyard, Kristian Ole Jakobsen from ESVAGT and Luis Magro from Zamakona have known each other a long time and are looking forward to continuing their good collaboration. PHOTO: Havyard
Design challenges
Design Manager Arve Helsem Leine at Havyard Design & Solutions has developed many designs for different types of vessels in recent years. Havyard now has a design portfolio consisting, among other things, of different types of offshore vessels and fishing vessels, ice breakers, live fish carriers and wind farm service vessels. 'Each ship type has its own challenges, but a lot of the basic know-how and design tools can be used for all of them,' says Design Manager Leine. 'The key is to know the customer's needs and what criteria the ship will operate under. The ships often perform many different kinds of services, in which case it is a matter of finding the best compromise between the properties that are to be emphasised. When designing new ship types, it is especially important to have experience of different designs and the ability to utilise expertise and technology in order to meet the customer's requirements.'
'Only very rarely, however, do we come across as tough requirements as those that apply in this project. It has really put us to the test. The positive thing, however, is that ESVAGT has given us very clear requirements and described the operating profile of the ship very well. The result is that it has been easier for us to optimise the ship's properties than for some of the other ship types we have worked on.'
Havyard has carried out an extensive R&D programme in recent years where particular emphasis has been placed on fuel consumption and on optimising ships' seaworthiness in relation to the conditions in the waters it will operate in most of the time. Among other things, this has resulted in the WE bow and a stern with twin skegs (keels). There has also been strong focus on simulation and testing in a way that ensures that the results obtained can be transferred between different types of designs and types of vessels.
'When developing Havyard 931 CCV, the biggest design challenges have been the goal of extremely low fuel consumption and stringent requirements as regards accommodation and stability, criteria that often pull in different directions,' continues Design Manager Leine. 'We have been working for a long time, with many repetitions of calculations and simulations of the principal dimensions, and the engine and propulsion concept, where there has been constant focus on fuel consumption and emissions to the environment. We have ended up with a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion solution with batteries, where we vary the RPM of the diesel engines to optimise fuel consumption.'
'I cannot reveal much more than that, but I can say that the results we have achieved have attracted attention in both the research community and the rest of the industry. And we can use these results in our further development of new designs and concepts,' concludes Design Manager Arve Leine.
Tough tests: The Havyard 931 CCV design has undergone extensive tests, including of its seaworthiness and fuel economy in rough seas. PHOTO: Havyard
Close cooperation between ship owner and designer
Chief Operating Officer (COO) at ESVAGT, Kristian Ole Jakobsen prise the good cooperation with Havyard during the development of the new design. ‘We have during the development of this specialized CCV had a fine and most pro-active cooperation with Havyard’s design team, Jakobsen replies. ‘Main areas of specific attention have included fuel efficiency /energy optimization, high vessel performance and maximum functionality, which all have required detailed analyzes and expert knowledge by the stakeholders. We are sure that this vessel will set new standards within innovative solutions, COO Kristian Ole Jacobsen concludes.
Havyard 931 CCV
This design has been specially developed for ESVAGT. It will be used to change crews on vessels in ESVAGT's fleet. The intention is to make the crew changeovers more cost efficient by transferring crews while the vessels are at sea instead of having to be moored at quay, which has been the principle for crew-change within ESVAGT for more than 25 years. The crew changeovers will also be combined with drills and the training of crews on ESVAGT's standby fleet. Havyard 931 CCV has been developed especially to enable personnel to be transported quickly and safely, with as little fuel consumption as possible.
Length: 88.4 m
Breadth: 15 m
Speed: Min. 18 knots
Accommodates: 75 persons