Finland’s Wärtsilä has signed a contract with Shanghai Bestway Marine Engineering Design Co Ltd to design a new type of deep water dive support vessel.
The ship is to be built for China state-owned Shanghai Salvage Bureau (SSB), one of the largest professional salvage companies in China. The contract with Wärtsilä was signed in January.
The Wärtsilä design features a combination of capabilities, including deep water (6000 metres) salvage operations, deep water pipe laying and construction work, and saturation (SAT) diving operations for 24 divers using two diving bells.
SAT diving is a technique that allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness when working at great depths for extended periods of time. All the design features are based on a single platform operating with DP3, the highest class of Dynamic Positioning. When built, this will be the world’s first SAT diving support vessel with Multi-Lay and ultra deep water construction capabilities, Wärtsilä said.
“For a complex vessel design such as this involving the needed sub-sea equipment, both extensive experience and broad know-how are absolutely essential. Wärtsilä was selected because of our strengths in both these areas. This contract highlights once again the value of the proven, sophisticated, and integrated system designs that Wärtsilä produces for the global marine market,” says Riku-Pekka Hägg , Vice President, Ship Design, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
“The new vessel will certainly be the most sophisticated asset in our fleet. It will carry out operations in very deep waters and in often difficult conditions. We believe the Wärtsilä design will meet all our requirements for successful operations,” says Huang Yan , Director of Deep Diving Technology Development Center, SSB.