Kongsberg Maritime: KONGSBERG to supply integrated technology for innovative new heavy lift crane vessel

Kongsberg Maritime has secured an approx. US $13 million contract to equip a new heavy lift crane vessel for Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT) with an appropriately innovative technology suite. The vessel, a customised Ulstein Design & Solutions BV design, marks the entry of the Norway-based Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT) into the offshore renewables and installation market. Options exist for a further three vessels, but the first is currently under construction by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) and is scheduled to enter service in 2021.

The revolutionary 216.3m, 48,000DWT (deadweight tonnage) vessel has been designed with a submersible main deck and a 3,000mt (metric tons) lifting capacity main crane to expedite heavy-lift crane operations for heavy substructures supporting offshore wind turbines. Future-proofed in anticipation of the construction of the largest predicted wind turbine generators, the vessel will be capable of transporting and installing up to 10 x 1,500t ultra-large jacket foundations or 11 x 2,000t XXL monopiles, plus transition pieces. The vessel with its large, open deck of more than 10,000m² is also ideally suited for subsea installations – oil pipelines, satellite wells, as well as decommissioning.

KONGSBERG’s integrated technology solution will be integral to the vessel’s operational effectiveness. The suite will include dynamic positioning, navigation, thruster control and automation systems, all enhanced by inbuilt measures to improve functionality and safety. The delivery will be augmented by an electrical package including battery hybrid power and energy management systems, which will perpetrate a sharp reduction in fuel oil consumption, thereby driving down the vessel’s CO₂ and NO_x emissions.

“The heavy lift market has always presented a series of very specific challenges,” said Torgeir E. Ramstad, CEO of OHT, “but combining heavy lift crane capacity to a semi-submersible vessel genuinely represents a bold step into the offshore working environment of tomorrow. In working with ULSTEIN to design an innovative transport and installation vessel everyone has had to pull out all the stops, including defining the most efficient marine technology and Kongsberg Maritime has demonstrated that they are in the fore-front of delivering a state-of-the-art, integrated solution to meet our needs.”

“The fact that China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) selected our solution to enable OHT’s expansion into the offshore renewables and installation market is a valued endorsement of our approach to the integration of operational and digital technology. We are looking forward to seeing this sophisticated vessel in operation and delivering continued support to ensure that OHT can maximise the potential of the KONGSBERG systems on board,” saidBård Bjørløw, EVP Sales & Marketing, Kongsberg Maritime.