ULSTEIN deliveres platform supply vessel ‘Blue Guardian’ to Blue Ship Invest for work in the North Sea
The platform supply vessel ‘Blue Guardian’ was delivered from ULSTEIN to Blue Ship Invest on 28 June 2013. The vessel is contracted to work in the North Sea, said in the company's press release.
‘Blue Guardian’ is the fifth in a series of six platform supply vessels (PSV) of the PX121 design from Ulstein Verft, and the vessel is under the management of Remøy Shipping. From mid-July, the ship has been contracted by Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA and Repsol Exploration respectively, to support the jack-up rig Maersk Giant in its work on two subsea wells on the Norwegian continental shelf in the North Sea.
Captain Trygve Valø and chief engineer Jens-Kristian Rusten have been stationed at the yard the past two months as inspectors for Remøy Shipping. Both have previously worked on board the first of the six vessels, ‘Blue Fighter’.
“It will be exciting to see the new ship at work. We expect her to be at least as good as ‘Blue Fighter’, which we are very satisified with. That vessel is a marvellous ship, with good seakeeping qualities, high comfort and good facilities,” they say. Rusten continues by stating that two months onshore is more than enough: “I am looking forward to the naming ceremony on 3rd July so we can get offshore again!”
‘Blue Guardian’ has a length of 83.4 metres and a beam of 18 metres, and keeps a maximum speed of approximately 16 knots. She has a load capacity of 4,200 tonnes (dwt), and the 850 square metre cargo deck can carry a deck load of 2,200 tonnes. In addition to tanks for oil, water and drilling fluids, the vessel has four stainless steel tanks for flammable liquids. ‘Blue Guardian’ has modern accommodation for 23 persons, is equipped with a dynamic positioning system IMO class II and meets the requirements of DNV’s Clean Design notation.
The latest vessels in the series have been adapted to requirements for work in the Norwegian sector. That includes more power in order to keep position in foul weather at rig, and NOx reduction for the exhaust emissions. In addition, the latest vessels carry the light ice class (ICE-C), to be prepared for work further north.
In the North Sea, PSVs of the PX121 design are considered medium-sized. The vessels of this design have an optimal combination of fuel-efficiency and deadweight. They have the capacities and performance close to the segment for larger PSVs, but at a cost that provides excellent value-for-money.
The vessels’ X-BOW® hull line design offers efficiency over a wide draught range, which is important for PSVs as they frequently operate with varying loads. Moreover, the X-BOW has unique, beneficial qualities in terms of motion and propulsion efficiency in heavy seas. Both the hull and choice of propulsion system make the vessels particularly suited for North Sea and North Atlantic conditions.
Ulstein Power & Control has delivered the electrical systems on board, including power distribution and electrical propulsion system, the information and communication system ULSTEIN COM®, modular consoles, integrated navigation systems and the integrated automation system ULSTEIN IAS®.
The first ship in this series was delivered in 2012, and all four of the previously delivered vessels to Blue Ship Invest have entered into firm contracts.