Vestdavit wins contract with Thoma-Sea for davit systems on pair of NOAA ocean research newbuilds
Vestdavit has signed a contract for the delivery of davit systems for a pair of newbuild scientific vessels being built for the US’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to the company's release.
The company has now secured a contract with US shipbuilder Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors to supply one of its HN-5000 workboat davits for each of the two vessels, named Oceanographer and Discoverer, that are under construction for the NOAA at the Louisiana-based fabrication yard.
It is the latest in a series of contract awards in the ocean research business area for Vestdavit, which has previously supplied as many as 20 davit systems to the NOAA in recent years following its first delivery in 1995.
The HN-5000 davits, due for delivery in mid-2023, are designed for reliable launch and recovery in variable sea states of workboats that will be used to carry out diverse missions ranging from general oceanographic research and exploration to marine life, climate and ocean ecosystem studies.
The two vessels, each with a 20-strong crew and accommodation for up to 28 scientists onboard, will also be required to perform maintenance on buoys and moorings, deploy scientific instruments to collect weather and water column data, and conduct seafloor mapping surveys.
Survey and data collection work will entail operations in different marine environments across the globe spanning shallow coastal and continental shelf waters to deep ocean conditions.
The high-specification features of the HN-5000 make it well-suited to the operating requirements of challenging ocean conditions, enabling workboats to be safely launched and recovered in very rough weather.
The davit system incorporates motion compensation and safety features such as independent dual winches with independent constant tension, shock absorbers, guide arms and a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for digital remote control.
Independent dual winches can operate separately or synchronized, and each winch can independently provide constant tension, which is “a really advantageous feature when recovering boats in really rough weather”, according to Oding.
Shock absorbers, with one for each wire fall, remove 80% of peak loads to ensure a smoother ride for the crew of the workboat while guide arms serve as anti-pendulation devices that follow and stabilise the boat during davit in/out operation.
The PLC allows for pre-programmed motion sequences, which enables the davit operator to focus on the small boat and crew.
The self-contained davit is skid-mounted that makes it easy to install on the deck of the vessel at the yard while also allowing operational flexibility as the skid is adaptable with locks for mounting of an ISO container instead of the davit if required for specific scientific missions.
The Oceanographer, which will have Honolulu as its home port, and Discoverer, to be homeported at Rhode Island, represent a significant expansion of the NOAA fleet to facilitate its work to explore and gain vital understanding of the oceans that cover 70% of the Earth’s surface and are essential to supporting life on the planet.