Ulstein Verft delivered ‘Blue Prosper’, the second of six medium-sized platform supply vessels (PSV) of PX121 design from ULSTEIN® to Blue Ship Invest, on 6 September 2012 – on time and to the agreed terms.
“This project has flowed really well, and we’ve been able to draw on the experiences we made when building the first vessel in this series, ‘Blue Fighter’, ” says Karsten Sævik, Managing Director of Ulstein Verft .
“The vessels were ordered based on market trends showing a future increase in demand for this type of PSV. ‘Blue Prosper’ will enter the North Sea spot market under the management of Remøy Shipping, which already manages ‘Blue Fighter’ in this market with good results,” says Gunvor Ulstein, CEO of Ulstein Group and Managing Director of Ulstein Shipping .
Ulstein Verft was contracted to build the first two vessels for Blue Ship Invest, a company in Ulstein Group, at the end of 2010. A continued positive market trend combined with very positive feedback on ‘Blue Fighter’ after some months in operation, led Blue Ship Invest to contract another four vessels of the same design in June 2012.
“Blue Ship Invest is an investment company, not a shipping company, and all six vessels are for sale,” ends Gunvor Ulstein.
Efficiency and flexibility have been the focus in the development of the PX121 design. With optimised tank capacities and flexible and segregated tank arrangements, the multifunctional vessel is suitable for many types of supply contracts. The ship is adapted to the requirements for longer and deeper boreholes and activities further from shore. In addition to tanks for oil, water and drilling fluids, the vessel has four stainless steel tanks for flammable liquids.
The vessel’s X-BOW® hull line design is particularly advantageous for this type of vessel. The X-BOW 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 vessel particularly suited for North Sea and North Atlantic conditions. The vessel is equipped with a dynamic positioning system IMO Class II.
The ship has a length of 83.4 metres and a beam of 18 metres. It has a cargo deck of 850 square metres and a load capacity of 4200 tonnes (dwt). The ship meets the requirements of DNV’s Clean Design notation and is prepared for fire-fighting class Fi-Fi II. It has a maximum speed of circa 16 knots and modern accommodation for 24 persons.
Ulstein Power & Control has delivered a substantial amount of equipment to the vessel, including switchboards, the information and communication system ULSTEIN COM®, integrated navigation systems with multi-functional workstations and the integrated automation system ULSTEIN IAS®.
The remaining four vessels are scheduled for delivery from Ulstein Verft in 2013.
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Source: Ulstein, September 6, 2012