Offshore Support Journal June 2019

This issue of Offshore Support Journal Magazine is sponsored by

June 2019

www.osjonline.com

LNG megaprojects drive OSV demand in Australasia

DYNAMIC POSITIONING DP for autonomous survey vessels

PROPULSION Battery-driven drilling vessel

SUBSEA UPDATE SURF’s up for Subsea 7

IMCA NEWS Plaudits for new accreditation scheme

Offshore pioneers in Marine and Construction Learn more at nov.com/lh

Š 2019 National Oilwell Varco | All Rights Reserved

Contents June 2019 volume 22 issue 5

Regulars

3 COMMENT 27 SUBSEA UPDATE 36 IMCA NEWS

Operator profile

www.osjonline.com

Editor: John Snyder t: +1 917 886 5192 e: john.snyder@rivieramm.com Production Editor: Kevin Turner t: +44 20 8370 1737 e: kevin.turner@rivieramm.com

4 Encouraging signs in renewables, subsea and offshore construction sectors present opportunities for Singapore OSV owner POSH

Brand Manager – Sales: Ian Glen t: +44 7919 263 737 e: ian.glen@rivieramm.com

Area report

Sales: Indrit Kruja t: +44 20 8370 7792 e: indrit.kruja@rivieramm.com

7 Australasia: OSV demand in Australasia has been bolstered over the last decade as the region has grown to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG

Dynamic positioning

12 As costs fall, DP technology is entering the sphere of smaller vessels and unmanned commercial surface vessels 14 How the latest developments in position reference and sensor technology are improving safety during offshore manoeuvring

Propulsion

16 How advanced control and monitoring, coupled with machine learning, is improving the efficiency of thruster technology

Communications

20 How digitalisation and VSAT can help optimise expenditure among OSV operators

UUVs and UAVs

24 Unmanned surface and subsea vessels are helping reduce costs, accelerate data acquisition and mitigate environment concerns

Vessel news

28 Ørsted is supporting its US Atlantic coast windfarms with the construction of two new CTVs 30 New MSV Ocean Evolution uses EGR to circumnavigate the need for exhaust after-treatment

Bulk handling and tank cleaning

Sales: Colin Deed t: +44 1239 612384 e: colin.deed@rivieramm.com Head of Sales – Asia: Kym Tan t: +65 6809 1278 e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com Sales – Asia & Middle East: Rigzin Angdu t: +65 6809 1277 e: rigzin.angdu@rivieramm.com Sales – Southeast Asia & Australasia: Kaara Barbour t: +61 414 436 808 e: kaara.barbour@rivieramm.com Creative Manager: Ram Mahbubani t: +44 20 8370 7010 e: ram.mahbubani@rivieramm.com Subscriptions: Sally Church t: +44 20 8370 7018 e: sally.church@rivieramm.com Chairman: John Labdon Managing Director: Steve Labdon Finance Director: Cathy Labdon Head of Content: Edwin Lampert Published by: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd Mitre House 66 Abbey Road Enfield EN1 2QN UK

32 Safety remains paramount when undertaking hazardous bulk handling and confined space entry operations

Next issue

Ports and logistics; Repair and conversion; Heavy-lift vessels; Pipelay/cable lay vessels; Crew transfer – access systems; FLNG projects; Ballast water treatment systems; Vessel maintenance; Trends & opportunities

www.rivieramm.com ISSN 1463-581X (Print) ISSN 2051-0594 (Online) ©2019 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd

Front cover image: Siem Thiima – LNG-powered support vessel

Subscribe online from just £299 www.osjonline.com

www.osjonline.com

Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, the Author and Publisher accept no liability to any party for any inaccuracies that may occur. Any third party material included with the publication is supplied in good faith and the Publisher accepts no liability in respect of content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any electronic medium or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

COMMENT | 3

A new plan for American offshore drilling

W John Snyder, Editor

A PRESIDENT HAS THE POWER TO REMOVE FEDERAL LANDS FROM CONSIDERATION, BUT NOT THE AUTHORITY TO REOPEN LAND THAT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY PROTECTED”

www.osjonline.com

hen it was first announced in early 2018, a five-year draft plan for offshore drilling proposed by the Trump administration would have included the largest number of lease sales in US federal waters in the nation’s history.

The plan hinges on President Trump’s attempt to use an executive order to reopen nearly 90% of US federal waters for offshore drilling, including areas where President Obama enacted a ban on drilling.

In March, a district court judge in the state of Alaska stymied the attempt, ruling the executive order unlawful and invalid. The judge sided with environmentalists in the case who argued that a president has the power to remove federal lands from consideration under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, but not the authority to reopen land that had been previously protected.

If the ruling were to be allowed to stand, then it would be up to Congress to rescind President Obama’s ban – an unlikely outcome given that Democrats who support the ban control one half of the US’ bicameral legislature.

So, it is looking increasingly likely the matter will be fought and decided in court.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, newly confirmed US Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said that his agency could wait for the legal process to play out before moving ahead with its plans.

But how long would that take? The potential for significant delays is a frightening spectre to face during a time when the offshore market is showing signs of recovery.

The only feasible option for our industry is compromise – and that is exactly what industry leaders in the US need to be pushing for. The opportunity is just too good to miss, particularly given the alternative of stalemates and the associated negative impact that delays would have on the offshore sector’s tentative forward momentum.

As industry advocacy body National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi said: “A hard stop negates months of environmental and economic analysis that could be used to move the plan forward.”

Mr Luthi called on the US Department of Interior, which oversees leasing of federal lands, to “evaluate the option of moving ahead with a proposed plan, with the caveat that the areas that are affected by the previous withdrawal could be excluded from an eventual sale.”

And he is absolutely right.

First of all, it is unrealistic to think that 90% of the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) would be opened up to exploration.

Setting aside the political complexities that accompany proposed drilling off the Alaskan coast, oil and gas drilling has been restricted in the Atlantic coast since the 1980s, and the last lease sale on Pacific coast OCS was in 1984.

However, any compromise that saw even a small proportion of the proposed leasing areas opened would represent a monumental shift in the OSV sector's fortunes.

Taking the US' Atlantic OCS alone, studies show initial capital investments would total US$194.5Bn, resulting in 1.3M barrels of oil equivalents per day (boe/d).

Of course, many lawmakers in state offices along the US’ Atlantic coast disagree with Mr Luthi.

Even so, compromise points may remain and with international oil companies starting to spend again, the potential financial opportunities could throw added weight behind the argument to open up US federal waters to offshore oil and gas development.

With utilisation rates in the US Gulf of Mexico among the world’s lowest, any progress towards opening new drilling areas would certainly be welcome news to American OSV owners. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

4 | OPERATOR PROFILE

New businesses gaining traction for POSH Singapore OSV owner sees growth opportunities amid encouraging signs in renewables, subsea and offshore construction sectors

O

ne of the largest OSV owners in Asia, Singaporebased PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd (POSH) was founded in 2006 as a member of the Kuok Group, which is controlled by Robert Kuok, Malaysia’s wealthiest man, according to Forbes.

The Kuok Group has interests in maritime, hospitality, real estate, agriculture and logistics companies.

Among the Kuok Group’s well-known brands is the Shangri-la Hotels.

Besides POSH, maritime interests held by the Kuok Group include PaxOcean, a shipbuilder and repairer with facilities in Singapore, Indonesia and China and Pacific Carriers Limited, a Singapore-based dry bulk carrier, tanker and container ship owner.

PaxOcean’s six facilities build and repair a wide range of commercial vessels. In April, PaxOcean Shipyard Singapore delivered the Giovanni Venturi, a former anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel built for Bourbon Offshore, that was converted into a water injection dredger (WIDs), for Dutch owner Jan De Nul. PaxOcean is converting two other former Bourbon OSVs into WIDs for Jan De Nul.

chief executive and joined the board as executive director on 1 May. Mr Lee has been an integral member of the POSH management team since joining the group in 2007. He has more than 10 years of experience in the offshore marine industry and was part of the team that led the acquisition of PSA Marine's offshore business in 2007. He has been instrumental in the development and operations of

Newly appointed CEO

Keng Lin Lee (POSH): “We will innovate and adapt our strengths to meet the evolving needs of our clients, capturing more opportunities”

POSH will now be steered by its former deputy chief executive, Keng Lin Lee, who assumed the role of

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

various joint ventures and new business divisions.

Prior to joining POSH, Mr Lee was employed by PSA International as its corporate and business development manager, where he was responsible for business development and charters of harbour tugs and OSVs. Mr Lee is expected to continue to explore options to expand services in subsea and renewables, drive operational efficiencies, build closer to clients and optimise POSH’s asset portfolio.

“We are encouraged that our new businesses – subsea and renewables – are already gaining traction,” says Mr Lee. “We will now further expand our offerings in these growth areas. We will also innovate and adapt our strengths to meet the evolving needs of our clients, capturing more opportunities.”

Offshore projects that were sanctioned in previous years are gradually coming onstream, says POSH, resulting in a slight uptick in offshore construction activities. At the same time, the attrition of older vessels is expected to ease vessel oversupply slightly in the short- to mid-term.

In the longer term, developments such as shale technology and the global transition towards greener energy sources constitute a structural shift in the oil and gas industry. While oil and gas are expected to remain as the dominant energy source, the share of energy contribution by renewables is projected to see a substantive increase globally. This transition could present both current and future growth opportunities for POSH.

Better OSV revenues, utilisation

Publicly traded on the Singapore Exchange since 2014, POSH reported a 12% decline in revenue year-on-year to US$61.8M for the three months ended 31 March 2019, despite posting higher revenue from its OSV business and slightly better vessel utilisation.

POSH attributes the lower revenues to an under-performing offshore accommodation segment, which saw its revenues dip 39% from the previous year to US$23.8M. As a result,

www.osjonline.com

OPERATOR PROFILE | 5

POSH reported a lower gross profit of US$6.8M for the quarter.

POSH says the lower revenue was largely due to POSH Arcadia – one of the group’s two semi-submersible accommodation vessels (SSAV) – being tied up for the quarter.

Correspondingly, gross profit declined 47% to US$5.0M. However, POSH expects improved results for its offshore accommodation segment during the remainder of the year. “We expect sustained improvement for utilisation and charter rates for the [offshore accommodation] monohull segment for the rest of FY2019,” said the company in a statement.

POSH Arcadia and its sister POSH Xanadu were both built by PaxOcean Engineering Zhoushan Co Ltd, in China as dynamic positioning class 3–capable floatel vessels with accommodation for 750. Complying to DNV GL comfort class, each SSAV has offices and a conference room for clients, gymnasium and sports room, library, cinema, and lounges. On the aft deck, one Liebherr 100t crane is located starboard and one Liebherr 150t crane located on port to support light construction activities.

For station-keeping and propulsion, each SSAV is fitted with nine Brunvoll thrusters, including two 2,038 kW azimuthing stern drive units, five 2,400 kW retractable units and two 2,400 kW bow tunnel thrusters. Ship-shaped, the SSAVs have a maximum transit speed of 11 knots.

In January, POSH Xanadu began an eight-month charter with Brazil oil giant Petrobras in offshore Brazil.

Petrobras has an option to extend the charter by an additional eight months.

Additionally, all four of POSH’s light construction vessels (LCVs) and three multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs) were deployed during the quarter.

In 2018, POSH Xanadu and POSH Arcadia achieved near 100% utilisation and gangway uptime. POSH Xanadu supported Chevron’s Big Foot tension leg platform (TLP) in the US Gulf of Mexico, while POSH Arcadia was chartered for Shell’s Prelude, the world’s

www.osjonline.com

AHTS vessel POSH Persistence has dynamic class 2 capability and 12,240 bhp

largest floating LNG (FLNG) located in the Browse Basin off of Australia.

Aside from the two SSAVs, all monohull vessels in the offshore accommodation fleet were deployed in Q1 2019, with improved charter rates, POSH reports. In Q4 2018, seven of its accommodation vessels had secured walk-to-work (W2W) charters to support offshore maintenance work, experiencing a 90% utilisation rate. POSH has a fleet of 12 offshore accommodation vessels, along with 42 OSVs, 31 harbour services and emergency response vessels and 38 transportation and installation vessels.

Results from the company’s joint ventures also slide to a loss of US$1.6M compared to a profit of US$0.6M in Q1 2018. This was due to lower vessel utilisation for its offshore marine service contractor joint venture, POSH Terasea.

POSH Terasea has a fleet of high bollard pull ocean tugs to provide towage and mooring installation of floating production storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels, floating production systems and semisubmersibles. In 2016, POSH Terasea delivered one of the world’s largest FPSOs, Glen Lyon, from Ulsan, South Korea to Haugesund, Norway.

POSH’s partners in the joint venture are Singapore-listed liftboat and tug

owner Ezion Holdings Ltd and heavylift cargo transportation company, Seabridge Marine Services Ltd.

Boost from renewables and subsea

POSH did see positive results from its new business segments established in 2018. Following its initial success in securing a subsea umbilicals risers and flowlines (SURF) contract last year, the company’s subsea solutions arm, POSH Subsea, clinched its second contract in Q1 2019 to support a pipeline replacement project off the coast of India.

In the renewables sector, POSH Kerry Renewables, a joint venture with Kerry TJ Logistics, added to its orderbook several contracts to support offshore survey and preparatory works for offshore windfarm construction in Taiwan.

“Moving forward, we expect charter rates and utilisation to improve slightly for the OSV segment as offshore projects that were sanctioned in previous years materialise,” says POSH in a statement.

The 13 vessels under long-term charters to a national oil company in the Middle East experienced a 97% utilisation rate.

POSH also refitted two OSVs for walk-to-work and subsea support operations, as part of its ongoing strategy to re-profile assets to serve growth segments. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Your access to offshore solutions.

FAST CREW SUPPLIER 7011

Next level approach offshore crew transport.

The FCS 7011 brings a new long-distance class, capable of servicing large platforms a long distance from port. Its size, capacity and technical solutions enable it to exchange large volumes of personnel quickly, efficiently and in a very broad weather window.

DAMEN.COM

Australasia AREA REPORT | 7

Gas drives OSV demand in Australia Gas megaprojects over the last decade have been key to Australia’s rise as the world’s largest exporter of LNG and beneficial to OSV demand

O

ver the last 10 years, some of the world’s most technologically advanced LNG megaprojects have been developed in Australia, helping the country to surpass Qatar as the top exporter of LNG earlier this year. Australia’s 10 LNG projects have a nameplate capacity of 88M tonnes per annum (mta) of LNG. These projects have had a knock-on effect on the OSV sector, creating demand for a diverse fleet of support vessels.

Singapore-based POSH Terasea made headlines in 2017 when it deployed five powerful anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels, each with 200 tonnes of bollard pull, to tow the world’s largest floating facility, Shell’s Prelude FLNG, some 5,600 km from Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea to the Browse Basin in Northwest Australia.

In the same year, POSH Terasea also handled the challenging tows of the semi-submersible Ichthys Explorer – more commonly referred to as the Ichthys CPF (central processing facility) – from SHI and also the Ichthys floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) Ichthys Venturer vessel, from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

Operated by Japan’s Inpex, the US$40Bn Ichthys LNG project began producing LNG last year. Gas from the Ichthys gas and condensate field in the Browse Basin offshore Western Australia is fed via pipeline to an onshore gas liquefaction plant constructed in Darwin, Northern Territory. At peak production, it is expected to produce 8.9 mta.

POSH Terasea is a joint venture of PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd (POSH), Singapore-listed liftboat and tug owner Ezion Holdings Ltd and heavy-lift cargo transportation

AHTS vessel Maersk Master will support the Gorgon stage 2 drilling programme in the Northwest Shelf (image: Maersk/Ytterland)

www.osjonline.com

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

8 | AREA REPORT Australasia

company Seabridge Marine Services Ltd. POSH Terasea has a fleet of high bollard pull ocean tugs to provide towage and mooring installation of FPSOs, floating production systems and semi-submersibles.

Last year, POSH’s semi-submersible accommodation vessel POSH Arcadia was experienced 100% utilisation under a charter to Prelude FLNG. Meanwhile, further development is proceeding at Ichthys LNG. Under a three-year contract with Inpex Australia, Maersk Drilling’s ultra-deepwater semisubmersible Mærsk Deliverer will drill at the Ichthys gas and condensate field. Commencing in Q1 2020, the estimated contract value of the three-year contract is US$300M, including mobilisation of the drill rig to the site. The contract, which has an estimated dayrate of US$270,000 per day, includes two one-year options.

The dayrate is a significant improvement to what Mærsk Deliverer, a nine-year-old ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig, was receiving under a spot contract to Italy’s Eni in offshore Timor-Leste. Under that contract, which lasted until April, Maersk Deliverer had a reported dayrate of US$140,000, according to Oslo-based offshore rig brokerage Bassoe Offshore.

South Perth-based OSV owner Go Offshore was awarded an 80-plus 60-day options contract by Eni to support its drilling campaign in the Joint Development Area (JPDA), which is administered by Australia and Timor-Leste. In March, Go Offshore deployed the 78 m PSV Bahtera Pertiwi (former Bourbon Explorer 507), and 75 m AHTS Go Sirius.

based Maersk Supply Service’s AHTS vessels to support the Gorgon stage-two development drilling programme in Q2 2019. Under the contract, the AHTS vessels Maersk Mariner and Maersk Master will provide towing, anchorhandling supply and work-class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services. Maersk Master was named the winner of the Vessel of the Year Award at the Offshore Support Journal Conference, Awards & Exhibition in 2018. Along with its sister vessel Maersk Mariner, Maersk Master has an open deck area of 800 m² with an additional 102 m² of covered deck area and comes equipped with a 450 tonne anchor-handling winch, housed in an enclosed garage to protect crew and equipment in harsh environments.

Part of the original development plan, Gorgon stage two will see the expansion of the subsea gas gathering network required to maintain long-term natural gas supply to the 15.6 mta LNG plant and domestic gas plant on Barrow Island.

This planned future development phase at the Gorgon natural gas facility involves new wells in the Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields, and accompanying offshore production pipelines and subsea structures.

Jansz-lo field is about 140 km from Barrow Island in 1,350 m of water. One of the largest gas fields ever discovered in Australia, Gorgon field is located in 250 m of water and about 70 km from Barrow Island. Gas from the field more than 3,400 m below the seabed is transported by pipeline to Barrow Island, the site of the Gorgon LNG plant.

Maersk Mariner has been working in Western Australia since September 2017, while Maersk Master has been in the country since March 2018. Both AHTS vessels have been manned by local crews and supported by Maersk’s shore base in Perth.

The Gorgon Project is operated by Chevron Australia and is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and JERA (0.417%).

MMA Offshore repositions for recovery

The world’s largest floating structure, Prelude FLNG, is one of Australia’s gas megaprojects (image: Shell)

Maersk Supply contract for Gorgon Project

The Chevron-operated Gorgon Project is another megaproject in the region, producing gas and condensates from the Jansz-lo and Gorgon fields off the Northwest Shelf of Australia. Chevron Australia contracted Denmark-

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Over the past four years, Australia-based MMA Offshore has executed a clear strategy to reposition its fleet and enhance its services in preparation for a recovery in the OSV market.

MMA disposed of 36 vessels that it considered were non-core assets to focus on the more specialised and higher quality segment of the vessel market to generate higher returns.

“The downturn has drastically impacted both our vessel utilisation and charter rates, with the effect that our EBITDA return on assets has gone from averaging over 15% historically, to a meagre 2.8% return over the past three years,” MMA Offshore chairman Andrew Edwards told shareholders last year. “Clearly, this is unsustainable for MMA and the OSV industry as a whole; however, we do believe that the market is improving and as the market normalises, we should see utilisation and rates increase, which will improve our return on assets.”

Overall for H1 2019, MMA Offshore reported vessel

www.osjonline.com

Comprehensive manufacture of compressor

Bulk Air Compressor Control & GS Air Compressor

http://www.tanacomp.co.jp/indexe

TANABE COMPRESSORS PTE LTD

A WORLD CLASS SIMULATOR BASED TRAINING FACILITY FOR THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR The only training centre in Australia accredited with the Nautical Institute.

Courses include but not limited to: DP Induction – Basic DP Simulator – Advanced DP Revalidation DP Familiarisation K-POS Maintenance Operate Offshore Cranes PMASUP305 Offshore Crane Stage 3 and Stage 3 Refresher Towing/Anchor Handling Winch Operator

For more details visit us at www.farstadsimulation.com

sales@tancomp.com.sg

10 | AREA REPORT Australasia

utilisation at 73%, with 39% of its 2019 days contracted. And, positively, the company estimates that its EBITDA return on assets will rise to 4.3%.

Besides acquiring or chartering in high-quality distressed assets and improving its balance sheet, MMA is also looking to expand its activities in the subsea market. It is looking to develop partnerships in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where it has a total of 14 vessels operating out of its fleet of 30 OSVs. Another 15 are operating in Australia, where MMA Offshore has experience in managing large marine logistics projects and has recently created a dedicated project logistics division as part of an internal restructuring.

MMA sees the outlook for marine logistics as “very positive, with a number of large LNG projects flagged for development over the next five years,” Mr Edwards told investors. He cited LNG developments in Mozambique which are “situated in a very remote region with no existing infrastructure, an environment well suited to MMA’s previous experience in the Northwest of Australia through Gorgon and similar projects.”

In April, MMA commenced a contract to provide accommodation and walk-to-work vessel services to support platform maintenance operations on oil and gas company Woodside’s Australian assets.

For the contract, MMA Offshore fit the multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) MMA Pinnacle with a custom motioncompensated gangway system to enable personnel to transfer between the Woodside platforms and their accommodation on the vessel during the maintenance programme.

MMA’s inhouse engineering team worked with Dutch gangway manufacturer ­­Safeway and Woodside to outfit the MPSV with the custom-built pedestal and motioncompensated mast and gangway, which offers workability at significant and variable platform heights.

MMA Pinnacle, which is on a long-term contract with i-Tech 7, the life-of-field business unit of UK-based subsea engineering firm Subsea 7, is permanently fitted with two identical Centurion SP work-class ROV systems capable of operating in up to 3,000 m of water and has an approved safety case for operations in Australia.

With accommodation for 100, the diesel-electricpowered MPSV is also fitted with a 150-tonne active heavecompensated subsea crane, manufactured by MacGregor, capable of reaching up to 3,000 m of water and has dynamic positioning class 2 capability.

Refueling for LNG-powered PSVs

Momentum is also building around Woodside’s growth plans for Scarborough, the expansion of the Pluto LNG facility, and Browse Basin, which are due for FID next year.

In a move to lower dependence on more carbon-intensive fossil fuels and boost domestic availability of LNG for power generation and refueling of heavy vehicles and coastal vessels, Woodside-operated Pluto LNG Project opened an LNG truck loading facility. LNG in tanker trucks will be available to

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Drilling in Great Australian Bight draws protests While Australia is the world’s largest exporter of LNG, the country’s oil production has been in decline for about two decades. At the same time, the country’s appetite for crude oil, condensate and refined petroleum products continues to grow.

However, Equinor’s draught plan to drill in the Great Australian Bight off of South Australia has drawn countrywide protests and some 32,000 public comments during a 30 day feedback period. It would be the first well to be drilled in the area since 2003.

In its draught plan, Equinor says once it receives all regulatory approvals, it will most likely deploy a semi-submersible drilling unit to drill an exploratory well in 2020 or 2021. The well will be drilled over approximately 60 days. After the operation is finished, the well will be permanently sealed – regardless of whether hydrocarbons are discovered or not, says Equinor.

Because the wellhead has a footprint at the seafloor of less than 1 m2, rising only two to three metres above the seabed, Equinor has decided to seal the wellhead permanently with cement plugs and leave it in place.

It will also employ a 400 tonne blowout preventer (BOP) before it starts drilling. The BOP will be equipped with six rams to cut the drill string and a capping stack in case of an emergency.

In June 2017, Equinor became the operator and 100% equity owner of offshore exploration permits EPP 39 and 40 located in the Great Australian Bight. The Stromlo-1 well location is situated 372 km off the coast of South Australia and 476 km west of Port Lincoln.

bunker coastal marine vessels, including the LNG-powered platform supply vessel Siem Thiima which has been operating in Woodside’s fleet since 2017. As part of the ‘Green corridor’ initiative, Woodside is also developing infrastructure for bunkering LNG for iron ore carriers employed between Pilbara, Australia to Asia.

Based on a VS 4411 DF design from Wärtsilä Ship Design and built by Poland’s Remontowa Shipyard, Siem Thiima has Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines that can burn either marine gas oil or LNG. Siem Thiima and its sister vessel Siem Pride are owned

by Norway’s Siem Offshore. Each PSV has an overall length of 89 m, beam of 19 m, and deck area of 970 m2. OSJ

www.osjonline.com

Australasia AREA REPORT | 11

AUSTRALIAN OSV FLEET, BY OWNER VESSEL

TYPE

SIZE

YEAR BUILD

MARKET VALUE (US$M)

AHTS

25,200 bhp

2011

12.19

Go Capella

AHTS

10,872 bhp

2009

1.96

Go Electra

MPSV

3,000 dwt

2012

24.99

Go Offshore, South Perth, WA, Australia Go Antares

Go Explorer

AHTS

3,300 dwt

2012

22.42

Go Perseus

AHTS

21,000 bhp

2015

14.93

Go Phoenix

AHTS

21,754 bhp

2013

12.71

Go Rigel

AHTS

7,894 bhp

2011

1.63

Go Sirius

AHTS

16,315 bhp

2012

8.46

Go Spica

AHTS

16,320 bhp

2009

5.23

Surf Supporter

MPSV

3,600 dwt

2014

38.73

Hai Duong 11

AHTS

5,220 bhp

2010

1.32

Jaya Majestic

AHTS

12,070 bhp

2014

5.57

Mermaid Cove

AHT

5,620 bhp

2013

2.92

Mermaid Leeuwin

PSV

4,000 dwt

2013

11.14

Mermaid Searcher

PSV

1,000 dwt

2008

1.09

Mermaid Sound

AHT

7,341 bhp

2007

0.52

MMA Offshore, Freemantle, WA, Australia

Mermaid Strait Mermaid Vantage

AHT

5,150 bhp

2012

2.32

AHTS

4,338 bhp

2009

0.94

PSV

5,150 bhp

2009

3.77

AHTS

4,000 dwt

2009

0.87

PSV

4,000 dwt

2016

13.79

MMA Cavalier

AHTS

8,000 bhp

2011

1.88

MMA Centurion

AHTS

8,000 bhp

2011

2.28

Mermaid Vigilance Mermaid Voyager MMA Brewster

MMA Chieftain

AHTS

8,160 bhp

2010

1.42

MMA Concordia

AHTS

8,000 bhp

2010

1.38

MMA Coral

AHTS

8,000 bhp

2011

2.30

MMA Crystal

AHTS

8,000 bhp

2012

2.66

PSV

5,100 dwt

2013

10.31

MMA Inscription MMA Leveque

PSV

3,100 dwt

2010

3.85

MMA Pinnacle

MPSV

13,731 bhp

2016

41.28

PSV

4,000 dwt

2015

13.30

MPSV

13,731 bhp

2016

40.50

MMA Plover MMA Prestige MMA Pride MMA Privilege

MPSV

3,000 dwt

2013

25.71

Maintenance support

10,459 bhp

2015

27.90

MMA Valour

PSV

8,047 bhp

2013

12.73

MMA Vigilant

PSV

5,200 dwt

2013

13.49

MMA Vision

AHTS

8,000 bhp

2009

1.03

MWV Falcon

MPSV

6,360 bhp

2017

-

Sea Hawk 1

AHTS

12,240 bhp

2010

3.33

Source: VesselsValue

www.osjonline.com

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

12 | DYNAMIC POSITIONING

DP developed for autonomous survey vessels Dynamic positioning is becoming an affordable option for smaller vessels and unmanned commercial surface vessels

D Snapshot CV

Chris Huxley-Reynard (Reygar)

• 15 years’ experience in the commercial marine and marine renewables industries.

• Founder director of Rolls-Royce subsidiary Tidal Generation • Experienced in developing DP controls, hydrodynamics, subsea electro-mechanical and software engineering • Previously worked for Marine Current Turbines, Martin Baker and Atkins • Is a visiting lecturer on tidal turbine performance at Bristol University

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

ynamic positioning (DP) technology is playing a key role in the offshore sector’s development of autonomous survey vessels and coastal renewables. Vessels are now being built with DP systems for marine construction, offshore wave and tidal energy projects. The technology is also being fitted on remote control towage tugs * and has been proposed for unmanned subsea survey and inspection work.

The falling costs of DP technology mean vessel designers and builders can incorporate it on smaller vessels. For example, Damen Shipyards designed, and is building, a Shoalbuster vessel for Herman Senior that has a DP2 system and engines that meet IMO Tier III requirements. Once built, Brutus will be used for multiple operations including offshore project support, towage assistance, oceangoing towage and anchor handling, plus remote vehicle surveys, mattress installations, mooring, pushing and dredging support.

This Shoalbuster 3514 shallow draught design vessel is due to be delivered in 2020 from Damen’s Hardinxveld facilities in the Netherlands. Its DP system will enable Brutus to hold position around structures, such as platforms and offshore turbine foundations. DP could also be used in open-sea operations, such as cable-laying.

Herman Senior managing director

Jack van Dodewaard thinks more of these types of DP-driven vessel will be built in the near future. “The demand for DP2 vessels is increasing and this will fill a gap in the market,” he says. Brutus will have four Caterpillar C32 ACERT engines that will deliver a total of 3,876 kW to four 1,900 mm nozzle waterjets, giving this Shoalbuster 60 tonnes of bollard pull.

Other examples of DP installation on marine construction vessels include Reygar’s StemTide DP control systems on Keynvor Morlift (KML)’s multipurpose installation and survey support vessel, Severn Seas and 60 m multipurpose barge Mormaen 15. These vessels were retrofitted in 2018 for a development programme that included testing technology for construction and maintenance of offshore renewables in shallow waters and in tidal environments.

On Seven Seas, StemTide DP manages a Schottel azimuthing thruster, a Denison bow thruster and a Torkmaster stern thruster. On Mormaen 15, StemTide controls two modular deck-mounted azimuthing 430 kW thrusters.

Reygar managing director Chris Huxley-Reynard says that StemTide DP was designed to manoeuvre and position marine and offshore construction units in these environments. He says there is an increasing need for vessel positioning technology as more wave and tidal energy generation devices are installed worldwide.

“DP would be useful for manoeuvring vessels at slow speeds for pipe and cable survey and light marine construction in tidal areas, where there would be tight windows of opportunity,” he explains.

“DP controls and computer hardware costs have come down,

www.osjonline.com

DYNAMIC POSITIONING | 13

making it more affordable for smaller vessels, such as multicats and Shoalbusters,” says Mr HuxleyReynard. “Multicats can lay anchors, install subsea equipment, conduct surveys – there are plenty of applications for DP on multicats.”

Following on from UK deployments of StemTide, Reygar plans to test it in East Asia and North America. It is in discussions with Chinese manufacturers to integrate thrusters with its DP controls and has a project planned in the US. Mr Huxley-Reynard says this DP system can be adapted for use on autonomous and remotely controlled vessels. It is being used to develop the first generation of autonomous survey vessels for renewables and pipeline inspection.

“We are in an R&D project for expanding the capabilities for coastal and near-shore autonomous vessels for survey work,” he explains. This project is in association with the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, marine survey firm Safeguard Nautica and communications system developer Core Blue.

An unmanned surface vessel (USV) will be built and tested for environmental monitoring and

surveys in inland waterways. A larger vessel will be tested in more extreme tidal and near-shore environments, including on a tidal energy project off the Isle of Wight, UK. StemTide DP will be used for navigation, positioning, tracking and following waypoints. “It features intelligent navigation and information from charted data, radar and AIS targets to deduce safety navigation strategies,” says Mr Huxley-Reynard.

“Autonomous DP vessels can reduce costs of surveys and visual inspections of subsea cables and pipelines,” he continues. “We are looking at operating autonomous vessels alongside a manned vessel to reduce vessel charter costs for surveying areas and turbines.”

One manned vessel could command multiple USVs during surveys using a radio mesh network for communications. “As more vessels are added, the mesh network increases range and its resilience,” says Mr Huxley-Reynard.

Heavy-lift DP

The value of DP technology in the offshore space was clearly demonstrated when Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) completed the first Quad lift using two semi-submersible

HMC crane vessels Thialf and Balder completed a successful Quad lift in Q4 2018

www.osjonline.com

crane vessels in the Gulf of Mexico in October 2018. Thialf and Balder were both operating in DP mode to lift a structure with four cranes.

To push the boundaries of offshore lifting operations, Kongsberg Maritime developed a specific heavy-lift function for its K-Pos DP system, as Quad lifting requires a synchronous move by both vessels operating on DP. However, it was not all plain sailing: prior to the successful operation HMC identified an issue that Kongsberg needed to solve to enable the Quad lift.

During heavy lifting, instabilities can occur in the DP control system, when the lift vessel is connected to another fixed or floating object through its hoist wires. Kongsberg already had a heavy-lift function in place to mitigate these instabilities for a single crane lift, but when two vessels are lifting a single object together, the existing solution was insufficient.

Studies by HMC into the behaviour of the DP control system during Quad lift operations revealed that modifications to the K-Pos DP Kalman filter were required. These studies were informed by simulators at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) and Kongsberg’s K-SIM simulator, coupled to the K-Pos DP system.

A team, led by Kongsberg Maritime DP product department and cybernetics principal engineer Petter Stuberg, derived the modifications to the K-Pos DP system that were required to conduct the Quad lift operation.

A modified K-Pos DP system with high Kalman settings was tested during simulations to confirm its ability to deal with a wide range of specific heavy-lift conditions.

Kongsberg optimised the Kalman filter parameters and retested it during a dedicated offshore DP-trial programme on Thialf in 2018. These high Kalman filter functions were installed on all HMC heavy-lift vessels. OSJ *DP systems are used on tugs by Svitzer and Kotug International and on OSVs by Wärtsilä for testing remote control technology

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

14 | DYNAMIC POSITIONING

Station keeping – the latest developments in positioning technology Developments in position reference technology and sensors increase safety when manoeuvring offshore Guidance Marine’s RS24 high resolution radar uses K-band to detect small hazards close to vessels

W

ärtsilä subsidiary Guidance Marine has tested SceneScan, its first targetless laser sensor for dynamic positioning (DP). It has also introduced short-range radar for intelligent navigation. Topaz Energy and Marine tested SceneScan on its DP class 2 capable platform supply vessel Topaz Citadel during a 90 day trial.

Guidance Marine head of business development Andrew Stead says the trials were conducted on Topaz Citadel, offshore Azerbaijan, where Topaz operates a fleet of support vessels for oil major BP. “The testing and evaluation was carried out and proven under actual DP operations around offshore platforms in the Caspian Sea,” he says. “The positive feedback provides further evidence of the efficiency and accuracy of the SceneScan system.”

Topaz operations director Paul

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Jarkiewicz says installation on Topaz Citadel was seamless, supported by Wärtsilä throughout the testing period.

“We have no doubt that the SceneScan system will add considerable value to the DP operations of our versatile and digitised fleet,” he says.

Following the successful trial, Topaz plans to keep the system on Topaz Citadel, and will install similar systems on other vessels, beginning with upgrading existing DP sensor systems on four of its vessels.

As described by Wärtsilä, SceneScan is a high-accuracy rotating laser sensor that provides positional data to allow automated approach and station keeping relative to a structure or vessel. The tracking information is relative to natural or man-made structures within the sensor's field of view and matches its current observation of the scene against a map generated from previous observations.

In April, Wärtsilä unveiled Guidance Marine’s RS24 high resolution radar. It says this is the first commercially available K-band maritime radar and can detect smaller objects at a higher radar resolution than conventional S- or X-band radars.

It could be used by OSVs in busy ports to detect small hazards.

RS24 radar images can be integrated with the Wärtsilä Nacos integrated navigational system on vessels to improve situational awareness.

Guidance Marine business development manager Sasha Heriot describes RS24 radar as a “groundbreaking development” that offers “unparalleled close-range fidelity, providing a level of situational awareness that is unprecedented in ship radars.”

Rival technology group, Hexagon subsidiary Veripos, has secured a multi-year extension to provide precise positioning information to a global surveying company. Veripos supplies position reference information based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to subsea services group Acteon’s subsidiary UTEC. As part of the contract extension, Veripos will upgrade existing GNSS hardware with the latest multiconstellation, multi-frequency receivers, which include the latest Apex5 signal corrections and Quantum GNSS visualisation software.

Veripos general manager John Macleod says technology development is vital in maintaining safety and reliability of offshore operations because of growing risks of GNSS signal interference.

“As offshore operations are now encountering more incidences of intentional and non-intentional GNSS interference, our latest anti-jamming technology is designed to ensure the highest levels of signal integrity,” he says.

Signal interference can be mitigated by including information from more GNSS constellations in precision navigation and positioning products. GNSS can include data from GPS, Glonass, Galileo and Beidou constellations and other regional services. OSJ

www.osjonline.com

YOUR ADVANTAGE – TRULY RELIABLE Fugro Satellite Positioning provides best-in-class position augmentation signals to offshore customers in the Dynamic Positioning sector.

Using PPP technology (calculating orbit and clock corrections individually for all GNSS satellites, we provide users with high-accuracy, trustworthy (SatGuardTM) and stable positioning service.

BE SPOT ON – GO WITH SEASTARTM

FUGRO seastar@fugro.com www.fugro.com/seastar

16 | PROPULSION

Predictive guidance to enhance thruster operations Combining the advanced control and monitoring of thrusters with machine learning will help offshore crew operate vessels with even greater energy efficiency

I

“

nformation is power,” says SINTEF Ocean research manager, maritime energy systems Anders Valland. “When that information relates directly to power consumption, it can revolutionise vessel operations – from onboard electrical load management to route optimisation,” he explains.

The information to which Mr Valland refers is the operational data being fed into the models for a new decision support system (DSS) under development by Norwegian offshore support vessel manager DOF, in collaboration with Kongsberg Maritime and research institutions SINTEF Ocean and NORCE. The aim is to improve the energy efficiency of a range of offshore operations – most of them relying on vessels’ thruster systems. The multi-year plan was the biggest offshore vessel, environmental technology project to receive funding from Innovation Norway last year. And according to DOF, the predictive tool will be critical to helping crew reduce operational complexity and cut fuel consumption and emissions.

“It will be a game-changer in how marine operational

decisions are supported,” says DOF senior project manager Lars Christian Larsen. “It will provide more accurate, timely, and easily consumable information to the vessel’s chief engineer and the shore-side chief operation officer.”

The system is made possible by integrating operational technologies – like thruster controls – with information and communication systems, says Kongsberg Maritime director of energy products integration Eiriki Mathiesen.

“New sensors will be deployed that stream data to the cloud-based support system,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Kongsberg's investment in the systems behind thruster technologies is continuing. It recently filed two patents that may eventually improve the condition monitoring of azimuthing thrusters.

Improved monitoring

One of the difficulties of monitoring azimuth thrusters involves reliably powering sensors in the thruster body and transferring data from the rotating to the static part of the thruster. One current method of doing so involves using DOF vessels Skandi Vega and Skandi Iceman on manoeuvres

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

www.osjonline.com

PROPULSION | 17

ZF’s thruster monitoring identifies when components need to be replaced or repaired earlier than expected

mechanical slip rings to convey data and power, but this has two major limitations: the first is cost, as slip rings need to be modified for each size and configuration of the thruster; the second is the wear this arrangement causes to the slip ring and shaftline, meaning regular service is needed.

Kongsberg energy and health management specialists Werner Schiffers and Lars Saarinen believe the answer lies in resonant magnetic induction. Two inductors – one generating a magnetic field, the other generating an electrical current from that field – are configured so they can be rotated fully while still creating the electrical current. This enables power and data to be transferred wirelessly.

“This would simplify wireless data and power transfer during health monitoring of marine thrusters,” says Mr Schiffers. “A major advantage of our idea is that the power and data transferring parts of the condition monitoring unit can be retrofitted without removing the thruster from the ship’s hull.”

There are other benefits too, stemming from the more

robust and efficient transfer of power. The sensor in the thruster body would not require a battery, for example, and maintenance intervals could be extended as thruster designs are adapted to accommodate bigger, longer-lasting inductors.

The commercialisation of the concept is not yet in sight, but it provides an intriguing example of how control and automation technology can influence the development and performance of thrusters.

ZF Marine has recently introduced a condition monitoring system for its thrusters. The system measures vibrations which indicate the condition of the bearings and gears in the thruster's upper and lower gearbox. This helps operators to identify when early components need to be replaced or maintained.

Repairs can be planned and a worsening in the condition of the components can be avoided, all of which prevents downtime and shortens maintenance time. This extends the service life of the monitored systems and components, allowing the operators to concentrate on their main job.

The company has also introduced an oil cleaning system

Thruster nozzles optimised for free-running efficiency Schottel has added a thruster nozzle to its range, which has been optimised for free-running efficiency. The SDC40 nozzle features a nozzle geometry designed to maximise efficiency under sailing conditions, as opposed to other nozzles designed for higher bollard pull.

The new nozzle features a small outer diameter, which allows it to be adapted to different vessel designs and applications. The nozzle is also suitable for conversions and modernisations with limited installation space.

www.osjonline.com

The performance of the nozzles is enhanced by a new layout for the anode-based corrosion protection technology. The altered positioning, from the outside surface into the cross-section of the nozzle, is claimed to lead to an extended lifecycle for the thruster, as well as protecting the anodes against external impacts.

The new anode position also contributes to the nozzle’s hydrodynamic performance by reducing flow interference. This leads to lower fuel consumption and reduced operating costs.

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

18 | PROPULSION

to improve the quality and service life of thruster oil. By heating up the oil, the water is evaporated while a cotton filter filters out the particles down to 1 µm. Clean oil is pumped back into the system which extends the service life of the oil by 10 to 15 times. Fewer oil top-ups are needed, saving ship operators money.

ZF Marine sales manager Peter Toxopeus says: “Particularly with biodegradable oil, it is important to keep contaminants, such as water, out of the system so as to prevent downtimes caused by mechanical failures.”

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) has chosen a thruster package for its debut service operations vessel Wind of Change.

The vessel, which won OSJ’s Offshore Renewables Award in January, will feature rudder-propellers and transverse thrusters from German propulsion specialist Schottel.

The vessel is being built to a Salt Ship Design plan at Cemre shipyard in Turkey. It measures 83 m in length and has a beam of 19.4 m. Two SRP 430 FP (fixed pitch) Schottel Rudderpropellers with an input power of 1,660 kW each and a propeller diameter of 2.40 m are installed at the stern. At the bow, two fixed-pitch transverse thrusters with an input of 1,400 kW each and one SRP 260 retractable Rudderpropeller

with an input of 800 kW will provide manoeuvrability and dynamic positioning to DP2 standards.

The high-specification vessel will be outfitted with a 19 m motion-compensated gangway from Uptime and a TTS Colibri motion-compensated crane. The power plant comes in the form of L21/31 variable-speed gensets, ach rated at 1,660 kW, from MAN Energy Solutions, employing the EPROX energy saving electric propulsion system.

The vessels feature an on-board DC grid along with a power and energy management system. The grid will integrate two sets of batteries that will be used primarily for spinning reserve and peak shaving. Battery power can also act as backup for running generators, reducing the need to run spare generator capacity.

Wind of Change will operate under a long term-contract with the Danish company Ørsted at the windfarms of Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2, as well as at Gode Wind 1 and 2 off the German coast. The 83 m long and 19.40 m wide vessel enables the maintenance of wind turbines by specialised technicians.

Schottel will also provide the propulsion units for a sister vessel, to be deployed on Ørsted’s Hornsea Project Two Wind Farm off the coast of the UK. OSJ

Batteries drive thrusters on Transocean drilling vessel Batteries have been used to drive thrusters on a drilling vessel for the first time, marking a further step in the deployment of hybrid technology in the offshore sector.

The 5.6 MW hybrid power and energy storage solution has been tested on the first of eight thrusters on Transocean’s vessel Spitsbergen. Hybrid power for the remaining thrusters is now being commissioned by

AKA’s installation team in front of Spitsbergen’s new battery power system

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Canadian engineering firm Aspin Kemp and Associates.

The thrusters will be able to operate independently of the main engines and power distribution system, allowing the engines to run at an optimised load. The separation of thruster power also reduces risk when station keeping in dynamic positioning mode.

AKA’s scope of supply includes the conversion to DP3 closed-bus operation and the addition of the hybrid power and energy storage system. The retrofit is underway in Norway while the drilling rig is in operation.

“The energy storage system at the thrusters is a new way of making the vessels safer by keeping them in position even during a potential failure of the power plant,” says AKA chief executive Jason Aspin. “This prevents them from drifting off the drilling location, which endangers the people who work on these rigs and our environment.”

Spitsbergen has eight fixed-pitch, azimuthing RollsRoyce Aquamaster thrusters providing nearly 4.5 MW of propulsive power each. The semi-submersible rig is powered by eight Bergen engines rated at 5.27 MW, each driving an Alconza generator.

As reported previously (OSJ May 2019), Transocean is not the only drilling vessel owner to deploy battery power.

The diesel-electric generators on Northern Drilling’s vessel West Mira will be supplemented by Siemens’ BlueVault lithium-ion system when it enters service in the North Sea this year.

www.osjonline.com

PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE – with Brunvoll Azimuth Propulsion & Manoeuvring System

BRUNVOLL SYSTEM DELIVERY: Azimuth Propulsion Thrusters Retractable Azimuth Thruster Tunnel Thrusters Brunvoll Control, Alarm and Monitoring System Illustration: Skipsteknisk

Highest level of safety and redundancy for unsurpassed operational standard brunvoll.no

Maritime Hybrid & Electric Conference

NEW

4-5 September 2019, Bergen

Achieving significant reductions in fuel consumption, maintenance costs and emissions For more information please contact Indrit Kruja on +44 20 8370 7792 or at indrit.kruja@rivieramm.com

www.hybridelectricship.com

Bloksma Box Cooler for Marine Industry

LONG TERM RELIABLE MACHINE COOLING SYSTEMS Bloksma Box Coolers ensure elimination of complete outboard secondary cooling water circuit on board. Furthermore it protects the sea-chest against galvanic corrosion by a coating covering all noble surfaces. www.kelvion.com

Organised by

20 | COMMUNICATIONS

VSAT proves critical for offshore operations OSV operating expenditures can be optimised by up to 30% using VSAT and by adopting digitalisation

F

ast satellite communications and effective digitalisation are now a must have for OSV owners, managers and operators. If offshore oilfield operators are transforming their business through digitalisation, so should OSV owners.

Vessels represent an integral part of the operational chain and need to comply with energy companies’ requirements for connectivity and e-documentation. This is the view expressed by IEC Telecom vice president Nabil Ben Soussia talking at Riviera Maritime Media’s Middle East Offshore Support Journal Conference*.

“OSVs have no other option but to adopt new ways,” he told delegates. But these new ways should not be enforced on owners; rather the commercial value of adoption should drive the transition. OSV operating expenditures can be slashed up to 30% by adopting digitalisation through fast VSAT [very small aperture terminal] technology.

Mr Soussia said fuel costs, which represent 46% of a typical vessel’s operating expenditure, could be trimmed by 7%, while remote maintenance can reduce these costs by 20%. There are also savings to be made from retaining personnel through better crew welfare services.

“Connected ships offer more communication opportunities at lower cost for the company,” he said. IEC offers Ka-band VSAT connectivity through Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress and Telenor Satellite and Ku-band in

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Alf Stian Mauritz (IEC): “OSVs can automatically switch between VSAT and LTE for the highest level of connectivity”

partnership with Thuraya.

At the conference, Topaz Energy and Marine chief information officer Kris Vedat said VSAT enabled its fleet to be connected as remote offices at sea and for internet-of-things (IoT) adoption. For his company, VSAT enables e-commerce and e-documentation, voice and video over IP and IoT applications.

Mr Vedat thinks OSV owners need to embrace the next wave of connectivity-enabled technologies, such as ecosystems driven by artificial intelligence and smart machines.

Topaz has connected more than 100

vessels to online applications through VSAT supplied by Orange Business Services. Topaz also introduced digitalisation for its vessel masters and crew. This has facilitated real-time data reporting, enhanced decisionmaking and greater accountability, said Mr Vedat. It also brought “greater transparency, better planning capabilities for maintenance and reduced downtime, plus improved compliance through automation, quality assessment and feedback,” he noted.

Other digital values included lower fuel and maintenance costs, higher employee satisfaction and higher productivity, improved asset uptime and lower procurement costs. Orange provides Topaz with its Maritime Connect VSAT and office-at-sea solution, said Orange business development manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa Sabah Zouaoucha. This includes voice and data services, internet access, onboard wifi, cyber security, digital reporting and onboard entertainment services.

These services are delivered to OSVs using global Ku-band, backed up for slower, but more resilient, L-band.

Ka-band transition

Up to 2016, the vast majority of offshore vessel VSAT was over either legacy C-band or Ku-bands of radio frequencies. Now, owners are migrating vessels to Ka-band for faster connectivity. Ku-band still has the biggest slice of vessel VSAT,

www.osjonline.com

COMMUNICATIONS | 21

but the growth trend is in Ka-band, says IEC Telecom Norway managing director Alf Stian Mauritz: “Some of the main factors [for this transition] are improving crew welfare, engine performance, fuel consumption and the ability to analyse vessel performance.”

As owners also invest in Ka-band VSAT for secure virtual private networks (VPNs), telemedicine and video conferencing, “The connectivity needs to be stable and secure,” says Mr Mauritz.

Across the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, OSVs can link to 3G or 4G/LTE** mobile networks through transmitters on offshore oil and gas platforms. “OSVs can automatically switch between VSAT and LTE for the highest level of connectivity and data speeds over a secure fibre network,” says Mr Mauritz.

Marlink also enables OSVs to switch from its Sealink VSAT to LTE/4G networks run by Tampnet. Marlink president of maritime Tore Morten Olsen explains: “LTE provides higher speeds and lower latency when vessels are within range” than VSAT. “This is smart connectivity for optimising usage depending on speed availability,” he says.

OSV connectivity should include two VSAT antennas to prevent blockages between the satellite and the terminal impacting on operations. “Owners cannot afford to have communication breakdowns, so they should have dualantenna solutions and L-band back-up,” Mr Olsen explains.

He thinks there will be demand for antennas that connect to both Ku- and Ka-band VSAT. “It will be important to have dual-band antennas that can switch between frequencies,” he says.

In reaction to rising demand, Telenor Satellite expects to treble connectivity speeds for offshore vessels over its regional Ka-band services after upgrading its IT delivery platform. It will boost data speeds from its Thor 7 satellite when vessels are migrated to the Newtec Dialog platform. Thor 7 covers Europe, the Mediterranean, Barents, Kara, Norwegian, North and Black seas and across the North Atlantic.

“Our highest profile on Ka-band is

www.osjonline.com

with 35 Mbps downlink and 6 Mbps uplink,” Telenor Satellite director of data services Jan Hetland says. “But, we are pushing the boundaries of the current platform. We launched the Newtec Dialog platform to keep up with rising requirements from offshore vessels.”

This new platform will be able to achieve more than 100 Mbps using selected beams on Thor 7, increasing capacity for voice, data, email and internet communications.

“Our current customers have a mix of requirements,” says Mr Hetland.

“There is increasing demand on our network for social media applications such as Facebook and YouTube.” He added voice-over-IP, internet and video streaming were also important applications over Ka-band VSAT. “We are committed to meeting that demand and ensuring our service delivers the highest possible throughput. This Newtec Dialog platform will enable us to achieve that goal,” he says.

Satcom Global migrated vessels using its Aura VSAT network from the iDirect Evolution to the iDirect Velocity platform for higher speeds of Ku-band connectivity from primary network supplier, SES Networks.

Satcom Global chief operating officer Alex Stewart says this migration means his company can offer a mixture

of high-throughput spot beams and wide beams of Ku-band for “seamless broadband connectivity that is both flexible and scalable.”

Uninterrupted IP

The Velocity platform should ensure vessels maintain an uninterrupted IP session while crossing multiple spot beams from SES satellites with more redundancy in connectivity in the network for IoT applications.

“We are seeing more data monitoring and real-time automatic transfers from vessels to shore,” Mr Stewart explains.

Faster VSAT also enables remote administration of vessels’ computers, software updating and diagnostics of IT systems from shore.

“These cut requirements for onboard visits for systems maintenance, upgrades and troubleshooting,” says Mr Stewart.

Applied Satellite Technology (AST) Group is a distributor for Thor 7 and Inmarsat’s Global Xpress. It delivers this Ka-band with terminals supplied

by Cobham Satcom and Intellian Technologies. AST is also a distributor of Iridium’s new Certus L-band service.

AST’s service is provided by the Integra Network, which is used for internet routeing, connectivity support and control and secure VPNs. It has multiple layers of cyber security: the

VSAT enables IoT applications and improved crew welfare services (image: Satcom Global)

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

22 | COMMUNICATIONS

first layer is an advanced firewall to control traffic and block abnormal connections; the second layer is web filtering with anti-malware and antivirus protection, plus a default block on software updates; while the third layer is intrusion prevention.

Satellite redundancy

AST is also a distributor of ITC Global, which uses a huge Ku-band network of 45 satellites and more than 300 beams for global vessel connectivity. ITC Global chief technology officer and vice president of global engineering Sanjay Singam says redundancy in satellite networks is becoming essential for vessel connectivity as more operators adopt IoT and cyber applications.

“We provide redundancy in the satellite capacity by investing in infrastructure to be more robust and reliable because information is critical for operations and reporting,” explains Mr Singam.

He thinks VSAT facilitates businesscritical IoT applications for monitoring machinery and safety equipment.

One such application involves the monitoring of lifebuoys and rafts, he

Sanjay Singam (ITC Global): “Information is critical for operations and reporting”

explains: “Shore offices will be alerted if lifebuoys are deployed. They can start rescue operations quicker than having to wait for the captain to phone the office.”

This information could be used to reduce insurance premiums. “If liferafts and buoys have not been deployed this could help demonstrate vessel safety records and lower insurance costs,” says Mr Singam.

Remote ROV pilotage

Oceaneering International will use its VSAT connectivity for video streaming, real-time data transmissions and remote piloting of underwater survey and inspection vehicles. ROVs will

be manoeuvred from Oceaneering’s onshore mission support centres in Stavanger, Norway, and Houston, US. The business intends to open more ROV control centres in the future.

In April, Oceaneering secured a contract to provide a combination of VSAT and 4G connectivity to Pacific Drilling’s fleet of drillships under five-year digital service packages.

Pacific Drilling chief information officer Corey Thompson said this “strategic investment quadruples our bandwidth conduit, lowers latency in decision-making, and accelerates our technology road map,” adding that this will “bring about the digital transformation of our assets”.

Oceaneering said it would guarantee service-level availability for industrial and mission-critical data and will assume 100% accountability for network uptime and remote operations offshore. OSJ *Middle East Offshore Support Journal Conference was held in Dubai, UAE, between 24-25 April, in association with the Dubai Maritime City Authority **LTE is the long-term evolution technology between 3G and 4G wireless communications

Dual-band antennas deliver faster VSAT VSAT manufacturers have introduced new dual-band terminals to improve connectivity and reduce hardware costs for owners.

KVH Industries launched an antenna that automatically switches between high-intensity Ku-band from high throughput satellites (HTS) and widebeam C-band.

TracPhone V11-HTS maritime antenna connects to geostationary satellites in both Ku-band and C-band with a 1 m diameter reflector.

KVH chief executive Martin Kits van Heyningen says vessels can access data speeds of up to 20 Mbps on the downlink and 3 Mbps on the uplink using this antenna.

TracPhone V11-HTS uses KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband HTS network and connects to an Integrated CommBox Modem (ICM) to deliver connectivity on both bands. The ICM includes a high-throughput modem, voice-over-IP adapter, CommBox network management software, and built-in wifi and Ethernet connection.

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

There are two VSAT channels. A high-speed one that is suitable for video applications, telemedicine, web browsing, and allocated crew usage. The unlimited-use channel is suitable for data transfers, email, software updates, automated file transmission and weather updates. It has a maximum bandwidth of 8 Mbps downlink and 2 Mbps uplink.

KVH introduced HTS versions of its other antennas in 2018, including a 60 cm diameter, Ku-band TracPhone V7HTS and 37 cm diameter, Ku-band TracPhone V3-HTS. Elsewhere, Intellian Technologies launched a terminal with a 1.5 m diameter reflector that can be switched between Ku- and Ka-bands of frequencies. Its v150NX will be supplied as default for Ku-band, but can be converted to Ka-band by changing the radio frequency assembly and feed, while the reflector and radome are optimised for operation across both frequency bands. It supports VSAT from geostationary, medium- and low-Earth orbit constellations of satellites.

www.osjonline.com

17-18 September 2019, Singapore

With the recent changes in oil prices, rig utilisation and a tightening in availability of high-specification vessels, is the Asian OSV emerging strongly from the sustained downturn? Is the market now in good shape and is now the time to invest and take advantage of growth opportunities in the subsea, offshore construction and renewable sectors?

The answer to these questions will be discussed alongside many others in Singapore in September.

The Asian Offshore Support Journal Conference is the largest and most influential event focused on the offshore support industry in Asia. The 2-day conference is a must attend for contractors, charterers, shipowners/operators/ managers, shipbuilders, financiers and equipment suppliers.

Join us and hear influential, insightful and informed senior executives from the industry address the opportunities, threats and challenges facing the sector as we approach the 2020’s.

The focus of the programme will be regional opportunities, utilisation, reactivation, vessel efficiency, restructuring, digitalisation and offshore wind.

2019 Key Topics:

• Key market updates – Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam.

• Outlook for charter rates in 2020.

• Improving vessel utilisation.

• Reactivating vessels to support increasing activity in Asia.

• Strategies and technologies to improve vessel efficiency.

• Prospects for OSVs in the offshore wind industry.

• Comparison of restructuring schemes.

• Developments on walk-to-work vessels and access systems.

• IMCA DP session and workshop.

• Creating value and reducing costs through digitalising business processes.

Platinum sponsor

Gold sponsors

Silver sponsors

Book your place online today at www.offshoresupportasia.com/book-now or for more information please contact Kym Tan on +65 6809 1278 or at kym.tan@rivieramm.com

www.offshoresupportasia.com

Organised by

24 | UUVs AND UAVs

Embracing the undersea robot revolution The growing use of unmanned surface and autonomous underwater vehicles is reducing costs, speeding data acquisition and improving environmental performance among offshore operators

Ocean Infinity is deploying USVs to support a Shell project off West Africa

A

dvances in artificial intelligence, battery storage and charging systems and high-speed connectivity are enabling the development and deployment of a new generation of marine robots in offshore energy operations. These autonomous, semi-autonomous and remotely-controlled unmanned surface vehicles (USV) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) are improving operational and environmental efficiency, increasing safety, reducing costs and accelerating data acquisition. They are being embraced by offshore energy companies for a broad range of applications and transforming how offshore data is gathered, analysed and shared.

Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell has awarded a contract to Australia-based marine survey company Guardian Geomatics to perform a large hydrographic project utilising a fleet of

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

USVs. Starting in June, three USVs will be deployed over several weeks from a ‘mothership’— Ocean Infinity’s subsea construction vessel (SCV) Seabed Constructor — to acquire high-quality hydrographic data over an area in excess of 800 km2 off the coast of West Africa.

“Our ability to utilise multiple USVs simultaneously to collect data across such a vast area, in such a short space of time, and at the same time so materially reducing the environmental impact of the project compared to other service providers, delivers for our clients a truly unique and high value solution,” says Ocean Infinity chief executive Oliver Plunkett.

“By using unmanned surface vessels instead of a conventional vessel, Shell is able to reduce the onsite data acquisition time by a factor of three,” says Guardian

www.osjonline.com

UUVs AND UAVs | 25

Geomatics commercial director Steve Duffield. “Using Guardian’s Seabed-Cloud technology the data is able to be presented to the users with a much quicker turnaround. The fuel usage on the project is estimated to be reduced by a factor 10.”

In March, Ocean Infinity acquired a 25% interest in Guardian Geomatics.

“As with our AUV projects there are material gains in speed and efficiency using autonomous assets in scale to perform seabed surveys,” an Ocean Infinity spokesperson said. “We will also have materially fewer offshore man hours and fuel consumption is expected to be reduced, meaning our approach is not only faster and safer, but has a significantly reduced impact on the environment.”

Fully deployable from any of Ocean Infinity’s three vessels or from shore, each USV has two Yanmar diesel engines that drive twin propellers to a maximum speed of eight knots.

The USVs have an endurance of 140 hours when operating at a speed of four knots. The USVs are equipped with Rajant Breadcrumb multi-frequency mesh radio for telemetry between the Seabed Constructor and the USVs. The USVs are equipped with KM HiPAP 502s for acoustic telemetry and positioning between a USV and AUV. The USVs have advanced collision avoidance and standard navigation sensors.

Based on an MT 6022 Mk II design, Seabed Constructor is on contract to Ocean Infinity from Swire Offshore. A special hangar fitted on the aft deck of the SCV serves to house up to eight AUVs. The AUVs can be launched, recovered and serviced in the hangar.

When an AUV is deployed from the vessel it begins its survey once it reaches a set underwater altitude. Once the survey is complete, the AUV returns to the surface and is recovered.

A ‘mission control’ centre called ‘the online room’ on the vessel allows the crew to monitor and operate the AUVs. Once the AUV is onboard, data is downloaded into a highspeed network where it is analysed for sonar contacts and points of interest.

Surveying Grande America

Under a contract with Houston-based marine salvage and emergency response company Ardent, Ocean Infinity used its AUVs to conduct an urgent subsea search, inspection and operations project on the wreck of the roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel Grande America, which sank off the coast of France in the Bay of Biscay on 12 March. The ship was en route from Germany to Morocco when containers on the ship’s weather deck caught fire. The fire spread to other containers and led to the ship listing heavily and finally sinking.

Italy’s Grimaldi Group reported that 2,210 vehicles and 365 containers were onboard on the ship.

In accordance with its antipollution plan, the Grimaldi Group initially dispatched the Boskalis-owned anchorhandling tug supply (AHTS) vessel Union Lynx at the time

www.osjonline.com

Kongsberg Maritime's Hugin AUV can work at depths of 6,000 m

of the accident to monitor any environmental damage and organise the recovery of any floating containers. Additionally, Grimaldi undertook an underwater survey of the wreck, located in 4,600 m of water, using a ROV aboard France-based Ifremer’s multi-purpose research vessel Pourquoi Pas. Under its contract with Ardent, Ocean Infinity used its AUVs to locate the wreck, and its ROVs undertook a programme of inspection and operations to determine the state of Grande America.

Last year, Ocean Infinity bought five Hugin AUVs from Kongsberg Maritime to enhance its fleet. Overall, the company has a fleet of six Hugin AUVs which are capable of operating in 6,000 m of water to collect high-resolution data at high speeds. For data collection, each AUV is equipped with side scan sonar, multi-beam echosounder, a very low-frequency sonar called a sub-bottom profiler, high-definition cameras, magnetometer and temperature and depth sensors.

High resolution interferometric synthetic aperture sonar (HISAS) generates high resolution range independent imagery and full swath bathymetry. Coupled with the other sensors on board, the Hugin AUVs produce a robust data set including HISAS imagery and bathymetry, EM2040 bathymetry, subbottom profiler data and colour photographs.

The mission was conducted from Ocean Infinity’s vessel Island Pride which had been in Gibraltar prior to the contract.

Island Pride is a multi-purpose support vessel, with dynamic positioning class 2 capability based on a UT 737 CD design.

The MPSV is owned by Island Offshore, which is majority owned by the Ulstein and Chouest families.

“At a depth of approximately 4,600 m, our data gathering technology was used to assess the state of the wreck, and the high-quality imagery that we collected was pivotal in guiding our ROV team in executing the subsequent intervention,” says Mr Plunkett.

“Emergency response, whether it’s a loss of assets, damaged infrastructure or where there is the potential for environmental impact, is a key part of Ocean Infinity’s offering,” says Mr Plunkett. He says the company maintains a

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

26 | UUVs AND UAVs

fleet of three mobilised vessels, each with a complete set of the latest deepwater technology tools, deployed across the globe, to respond to such events.

‘Living’ underwater

Houston-based Oceaneering International Inc received the Subsea Innovation Award, sponsored by Maats Tech, at the Annual Offshore Support Journal Awards for its development of the E-ROV system, which is a self-contained, batterypowered ROV capable of operating for weeks underwater without having to be recovered to the surface. It is deployed from a surface vessel in a subsea cage that has a 4G mobile broadband connection buoy that floats on the surface.

Managed by a tether system, the E- ROV “unpacks itself” from the subsea cage and is piloted remotely from mission support centres on shore, eliminating the need for a support vessel.

The E-ROV can perform all the common ROV tasks including inspection, valve operation, torque tool operation and other manipulation-related activities. Since the ROV “lives on the seabed” – a so-called resident ROV – it enables operators to respond faster, keep production online more effectively and perform routine tasks with fewer deployments.

Data or instructions are exchanged by the 4G broadband signal that is transmitted from the integrated communications buoy on the surface.

When the E-ROV is low on battery charge, a support vessel can be deployed to the site to provide a supercharge via a cable to the subsea cage.

Building on the E-ROV concept

On display at this year ’s OTC was Oceaneering’s next generation hybrid ROV Freedom. Building on the E-ROV concept, Freedom can undertake autonomous missions in an untethered mode or be remotely piloted from shore for long deployments.

Freedom is fitted with a forward and aft tool changer, aft camera and lights. It has a hydrodynamic shape, achieving speeds up to 6 knots, with a forwardlooking high definition camera for infield inspection.

For manoeuvrability, it has vectored thrusters and a

Oceaneering is further developing its E-ROV design with the Freedom, a subsea resident ROV

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

360-degree sensor array.

Freedom works out of a smart docking station on the seabed, which allows it to charge its batteries, as well as receive information and upload data to the surface buoy for transmission to the shore-based control centre. It will operate in tethered and autonomous tether-less modes, performing both AUV- and ROV-related tasks, including survey, inspection, torque tool operation and manipulatorrelated activities.

Oceaneering has ordered hybrid navigation systems from UK-based underwater technology provider Sonardyne Inc for both Freedom and E-ROV. The two resident vehicle systems are to be fitted with the inertial navigation instrument Sprint-Nav, which combines a Sprint INS sensor, Syrinx 600 kHz doppler velocity log and a pressure sensor in a single unit.

“Tight integration of the separate sensors within SprintNav as well as the use of high-specification ring laser gyros are behind the high performance our customers are seeing from these units,” says Sonardyne sales manager for survey and construction Char Franey.

“They’re free from the calibration routines otherwise required and, because they also run on a unique dual engine algorithm, powering the INS and gyro compass, initialisation is fast and gaps in navigation are few and far between,” he says.

Freedom is expected to debut in offshore trials later this year.

Multipurpose, lower cost

Kongsberg Maritime expanded its line of USVs this April with the Sounder USV System, a multipurpose platform designed to work across different market segments, including ocean survey and fishery duties. It has been developed as a joint venture with Norwegian lifeboat manufacturer Norsafe AS, which was acquired by Viking Life-Saving Equipment last year.

Kongsberg Maritime says the Sounder USV has been configured from the keel upwards as a new platform to deliver hydroacoustic data quality, efficiency and productivity.

Operation of the USV is managed by Kongsberg’s K-Mate autonomous surface vehicle control system.

Depending on its mission, the Sounder USV System can be equipped with Kongsberg EM2040 multibeam echosounders for mapping and HiPAP positioning and communications systems for long baseline and AUV support. Other sensors can also be quickly integrated into Sounder’s payload.

“More and more businesses, from many categories within the maritime industry, are starting to see the vast and comparatively untapped potential of USVs as a means of autonomously and cost-effectively harvesting enormous quantities of high-quality data,” says Kongsberg Maritime vice president subsea sales Stene Førsund.

The Sounder USV System is compatible with launch and recovery systems for operation from ship or shore. With an endurance of up to 20 days at 4 knots, the Sounder USV enables productivity at a lower cost. OSJ

www.osjonline.com

SUBSEA UPDATE | 27

Modest Subsea 7 revenue growth driven by SURF activity Despite ‘robust’ tendering activity, increased vessel utilisation and an uptick in SURF activity, Subsea 7 posts loss for the quarter

H

igher vessel utilisation and improved pricing on subsea, umbilical riser and flowline (SURF) projects buoyed modest revenue growth at Subsea 7, but not enough to avoid a net loss of US$19M for Q1 of 2019.

Despite the loss, Subsea 7 chief executive Jean Cahuzac remained upbeat. Commenting on the quarter’s activity, Mr Cahuzac said: “Tendering activity remained robust” and that the company “continued to experience a steady increase in interest from our clients to engage early and create the right solutions for SURF projects on both an integrated and standalone basis.” Revenue for the quarter was US$859M, up from US$809M during the same period in 2018.

From the current rate until 2023, energy research consultancy Rystad Energy expects SURF activity to grow 11% annually.

“We are now guiding for 2019 group revenue to be broadly in line with 2018, as we continue to experience a gradual volume-led recovery in integrated and stand-alone SURF projects,” said Mr Cahuzac. He expects adjusted EBITDA to be lower in 2019 compared to the prior year.

“We have started to see increased pricing on tenders for major new projects, but this will take time to materialise in our financial results due to an anticipated two- to three-year time lag, on average, between tender, award and execution,” said Mr Cahuzac.

At 31 March 2019, Subsea 7’s order backlog was US$5.2Bn, of which US$4.2Bn was related to SURF and conventional activity, led by high utilisation of the four pipelay support vessels Seven Rio, Seven Sun, Seven Waves and Seven Cruzeiro on charter to Petrobras in offshore Brazil.

Subsea 7’s vessel utilisation jumped to 68% for the quarter, 16% higher than the prior year period, partly due to higher levels of diving support and inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) activity.

Among the announced awards in the first quarter were a five-year IMR services contract for BP and the Arran project for Shell, both offshore UK, and the Berri-Zuluf project,

www.osjonline.com

offshore Saudi Arabia, under a long-term agreement with Saudi Aramco.

In the offshore wind sector, Subsea 7 completed work for Germany’s Borkum 2 offshore windfarm and mobilisation for the transport and installation of foundations for Taiwan’s Yunlin offshore wind project.

Last year, Subsea 7’s Seaway Offshore Cables won its first contract in the US to supply and install array cables for Ørsted’s development of Coastal Offshore Wind Project off of Virginia.

Still, Subsea 7’s revenue from renewable activity dropped to US$53M in Q1 2019, compared to US$173M in Q1 2018.

Additional opportunities in the offshore wind market are emerging. In April, after the close of the quarter, Seaway 7 – Subsea 7’s renewables unit – was selected by Vattenfall for the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) 1 & 2 offshore windfarm project, about 30 km from the Dutch coast. In the North Sea, Seaway 7's scope of work includes the installation of 76 monopile foundations and the laying of the inter-array cables. There is also an ongoing tender for the HKZ 3 & 4 offshore windfarm, which is awaiting selection by the Dutch government.

Early in 2020, Subsea 7 will add the reel-lay vessel Seven Vega under construction at Dutch yard Royal IHC. Equipped with two reels, one with a storage capacity of 5,600 tonnes and the other with 1,600 tonnes, Seven Vega will be capable of installing rigid flowlines in 3,000 m of water. Once Seven Vega joins the Subsea 7 fleet, Seven Navica will be retired from reellay operations. OSJ

Subsea 7 will add reel-lay vessel Seven Vega in 2020, currently taking shape at Royal IHC shipyard

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

28 | VESSEL NEWS

Pieces falling into place for US offshore wind Offshore wind developer orders two CTVs to support US Atlantic coast windfarms

Four waterjets will provide the new CTVs with redundancy and manoeuvrability (image: BMT)

T

o support its offshore wind projects in Virginia and the US northeast, renewable energy developer Ørsted is partnering with WindServe Marine, LLC to construct two US-flag, purpose-built crew transfer vessels (CTVs).

Each catamaran-hulled CTV will have a length overall of 19.8 m, beam of 7 m, draught of 1.35 m, deadweight capacity of 15 tonnes and passenger capacity for 20 turbine technicians and four crew. Propulsion will be supplied by four waterjets, providing each CTV with a maximum speed of 28 knots.

WindServe Marine, part of New York-headquartered The Reinauer Group, will operate the vessels, the first of

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

which is under construction at US Workboats in Hubert, North Carolina. When delivered in Q1 2020, the high-speed, aluminium catamaran will serve Ørsted’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which will be commissioned in 2022.

The second CTV will be built by WindServe affiliate shipyard Senesco Marine in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, specifically for Ørsted’s and New England utility Eversource’s Revolution Wind project located between Block Island, Rhode Island and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Senesco Marine will begin construction of the CTV in late 2020.

These will be the first CTVs built to class in the US. The first CTV built in the US in 2015 to support Ørsted’s Block

www.osjonline.com

VESSEL NEWS | 29

THE SENSITIVITIES AROUND THE NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR THOUGHT PROCESS DURING THE DESIGN PHASE”

Island Wind Farm, Atlantic Pioneer, was constructed by Blount Boats to USCG Subchapter L and Subchapter I certifications, with guidance from class society DNV GL. Built for Atlantic Wind Transfers, Atlantic Pioneer is based on a design by South Boats of Isle of Wight, with an overall length of 21 m, beam of 7.3 m and draught of 1.24 m. Propulsion for Atlantic Pioneer is supplied by two HamiltonJet waterjets that are driven by two high-speed MAN diesel engines, giving the vessel a 30 knot service speed.

These new CTVs will be built to DNV GL class and based on a design by UK-based naval architect BMT Group. CTVs in Europe have been built to class.

“The sensitivities around the North Atlantic right whales have been at the forefront of our thought process during the design phase,” says a spokesperson for BMT’s specialised ship design business in Southampton, UK. The North Atlantic right whale is an endangered species, with only about 400 remaining. Developers have signed agreements to protect the endangered whales, including limiting the times of the year for construction activities when whales are most likely in the area.

This also meant that the CTVs would not be designed with open propellers and had to be highly manoeuverable.

“This has required an innovative approach, particularly when designing the machinery space for systems normally found on larger windfarm vessels,” says BMT. “The quad jet installation will offer superb manoeuvrability, excellent bollard push and an order of magnitude more redundancy than comparable vessels.”

US cabotage laws, collectively known as the Jones Act, require the CTVs to be built, manned and owned in the US. “Choosing WindServe to build our CTV at Senesco will provide locally built vessels and a local operator for the domestic offshore wind industry,” said Ørsted North America president and chief executive Thomas Brostrøm. “WindServe Marine’s experience with Jones Act vessel operations and fullservice shipyard fabrication, coupled with their dedication to the future of green energy, make them a great partner as we expand operations along the East Coast.”

DNV GL maritime Americas regional business development manager Sergio Garcia told Offshore Support Journal that while the “pieces are falling into place” for US offshore wind, a number of challenges remain for suppliers as the market develops. “My main concern is a pipeline of projects that will sustain the industry long term,” says Mr Garcia. “There’s competition among states to have everything built and sourced locally. This is not a practical nor efficient solution,” he says.

Legislators in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts,

www.osjonline.com

Rhode Island and Virginia have viewed offshore wind projects as major job creators, prioritising local content. This would require duplicate supply chains to be developed in states up and down the Atlantic coast. “There are not enough projects to sustain that,” says Mr Garcia. “States should be willing to work together creating maritime clusters to support projects.”

Service operation vessels next?

To further the development of US offshore wind, Mr Garcia says that purpose-built service operations vessels (SOVs) will also need to be constructed at a US shipyard. “We could see a contract placed before the end of this year,” he says.

SOVs are typically dynamic positioning class 2 capable, with large storage capacity above and below deck, with accommodation and motion-compensated gangways to allow maintenance engineers to transfer safely between the vessel and wind turbine.

The contract for a purpose-built SOV would have to be placed soon. Revolution Wind, which will produce 400 MW of power for Rhode Island and 200 MW of power for Connecticut, is expected to be commissioned in 2023. There are also a number of US flag OSVs that could be suitable for conversion to support an offshore windfarm as an SOV. Earlier this year, Eversource paid approximately US$225M for a 50% interest in Ørsted’s Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind Farm projects, as well as a 666 km2 tract off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. South Fork Wind Farm is a site off of Long Island, New York that could be developed into a 130 MW windfarm. Commissioning would be in 2022.

A collaboration between Ørsted and utility Dominion Energy, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind will have two 6 MW wind turbines in operation by 2022.

Largest offshore windfarm taking shape

Other offshore wind projects in Massachusetts are also taking shape, which could lead to demand for additional CTVs. Vineyard Wind, LLC, owned 50% by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50% by Avangrid Renewables, LLC, is currently in the permitting and financing process for the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the US. In May, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), an independent state board responsible for review of proposed large energy facilities, approved the construction and operation of electric transmission cables that will deliver 800 MW of renewable offshore wind energy to the regional power grid from the proposed 84 wind turbines 23 km off the coast.

The approval keeps Vineyard Wind on schedule to begin onshore construction in 2019 and become operational by 2021. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

30 | VESSEL NEWS

US owner readies new subsea support vessel for work Among a host of innovative technologies on board, new MSV Ocean Evolution uses EGR to circumnavigate the need for exhaust after-treatment

F

ollowing its delivery to Houston-based Oceaneering International, the new multi-purpose support vessel (MSV) Ocean Evolution is in Port Fourchon, Louisiana preparing to go to work in the Gulf of Mexico for a well stimulation project starting in June.

Ocean Evolution joins the eight other owned or chartered MSVs in the Oceaneering fleet, all flying the US flag except Ocean Intervention III, which operates under the Norwegian flag.

Based on a Marin Teknikk MT 6022 design, Ocean Evolution is capable of well stimulation and light well intervention work or inspection, maintenance and repair work, with a NOV 250-tonne active heave compensated (AHC) crane, two work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) with AHC launch systems, survey systems and subsea tooling for work in up to 4,000 m of water. The vessel’s ROV systems are installed in a custom indoor hanger to allow for port and starboard launch.

Its mast crane has a special lifting mode that allows heavy-lifts with alternate reeving of the boom that provides increased hook heights of 36 m above the main deck. As a result, Ocean Evolution’s crew can lift tall wellheads, large pin piles, and other large equipment off the deck utilising the maximum lifting capacity of the crane.

A second utility crane adjacent to the 7 m by 7 m moonpool is capable of lifts of 40 tonnes to handle equipment on deck or operate in water of 180 m.

Ocean Evolution can deploy two work-class ROVs rated at 4,000 m

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

Flying the US flag, Ocean Evolution’s 1,170 m2 deck is rated to support 10 tonnes/m2 with a total cargo carrying capacity of 1,900 tonnes. The steel deck has welding tie downs and hook up of specialised deck equipment for project mobilisations and demobilisations.

With accommodation for 110, a length of 107.6 m and beam of 22 m, Ocean Evolution was the last vessel built

by BAE Systems at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

The shipyard was subsequently sold by BAE Systems to Houston-based Epic Companies.

The bridge of Ocean Evolution has port and starboard redundant control stations, providing bridge officers and DPOs with a better view of crane operations, ROV deployment and simultaneous operations with other vessels and platforms on each side of the vessel.

Ocean Evolution has five EPA Tier 4 and IMO Tier IIIcompliant GE 12V250MDC main diesel engines with a combined generating capacity of 15,950 kW on a three-bus system to provide excess power capacity and redundancy.

Most notably, the GE engines avoid the need for exhaust after-treatment to comply with emissions regulations by using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology, which reduces the formation of NOx at source, during the combustion process. By incorporating EGR into the engine, there is no need for an after-treatment system such as a urea-based SCR system that would require the storage and handling of urea on board. Eliminating SCR equipment also saves space in the engineroom.

Dynamic positioning class 2 capable, Ocean Evolution’s position is held using two tunnel thrusters and a drop-down thruster in the bow, along with two Azipull thrusters in the stern.

Oceaneering reported the vessel achieved an ERN station keeping reliability rating of 99.99.99.99 – the highest rating possible – demonstrating the vessel’s ability to maintain station in difficult conditions.

The vessel’s underdeck storage capacity of 413 m3 for special products reserves the vessel’s deck space for pumping and intervention equipment. The vessel layout and safety systems meet ABS class requirements for a special well stimulation and well intervention notation.

Ocean Evolution’s helideck is rated for Sikorsky S-92 and S-61N rotorcraft. OSJ

www.osjonline.com

We supply products & solutions for all your tank management requirements.

Tank Cleaning Equipment

Gas Freeing Fan

Tank Level Gauging

P/V Valves

Electropneumatic Gauging

www.scanjet.se

Mobilisation and De-mobilisation Ship repair and Conversions Port and Voyage repair WWW.ROTTERDAMOFFSHORE.COM

32 | BULK HANDLING AND TANK CLEANING

Ensuring safety and efficiency in tank cleaning and bulk cargo handling

Tank cleaning often involves confined space entry, a time-consuming process fraught with safety concerns

​​​Safety remains paramount when undertaking potentially hazardous bulk handling and confined space entry operations

I

mprovements in the offshore oil and gas market have led to growing activity and increased demand for offshore vessel charters.

To meet this demand, owners are reactivating vessels such as PSVs and AHTS that transport essential supplies like drilling fluids, mud, cement and methanol in their tanks, and equipment such as casings, drill pipes, skips and containers on their decks.

As charter demand increases and vessels return to service, owners and crews must remain alert to safety issues that stem

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

from these vessels’ lack of recent use, for example cleaning drilling mud from tanks.

The last decade or so has seen significant improvements in efficiency and safety when it comes to such operations, including decreased cleaning times and less confined space entry operations.

Traditional methods of manual mud tank cleaning involve personnel entering contaminated tanks. The process is costly and time consuming, not to mention tiring, dirty and potentially dangerous.

This was illustrated in April of this year by a safety alert issued by the US Coast Guard (USCG). The alert was issued in the wake of an incident – the investigation into which is still ongoing – into the deaths of three crew by asphyxiation while working aboard a laid up mobile drilling unit.

A key element of the incident involved the Captain and two other crew members descending into a confined space without safety equipment to assist another crew member who

www.osjonline.com

BULK HANDLING AND TANK CLEANING | 33

had already been overcome by fumes.

The alert notes that the crew members who entered the leg may have lost situational awareness, adding that studies illustrate that obvious cues can often be missed while under stress and when crew are focused on another effort or action.

Investigators were particularly concerned by the Captain’s decision to enter the space with two other persons without personal protective gear and an SCBA. The alert notes that sources indicate more than 50% of worker deaths in enclosed and confined spaces occur when attempting to rescue co-workers.

An IMCA safety flash released in January this year further emphasises the need for proper procedures, equipment and training. A worker felt dizzy and weak while cleaning a mud tank. The tank watchman, noticing this, initiated emergency rescue procedures to recover the worker from the confined space. The worker received first aid and a further diagnosis of increased blood pressure but returned to their duties several hours later following rest.

Analysis of factors affecting the incident identified several issues; these included a failure to safely control the work process, unsuitable rescue equipment – certificates evidencing inspection of pieces of kit were absent – and the absence of a confined-space rescue plan. It also noted that the mud previously loaded into the tank did not have a safety datasheet, meaning the hazardous nature of the situation was unable to be identified.

Importance of PPE

IMCA’s safety statistics also highlight the importance of safe working practices and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) in other areas of bulk cargo handling on OSVs. In one incident, a crew member injured his leg while moving a mud agitator with unprotected blades while the vessel was en route to port. First aid was administered immediately on-board, followed by further examination and treatment of the wound at a clinic onshore. The injured person returned to the vessel on the same day.

IMCA’s safety flash says there was inadequate risk awareness – risks could have been reduced by protecting the blades before lifting/handling the agitator; waiting until the vessel reached port could also have reduced manual handling risks. Furthermore, manual handling practice could have been improved; while the agitator was suspended by chain blocks during the work, whilst gripping the blades using pieces of rag (rather than wearing gloves), the load slipped from the operator’s hands and hit the crew member’s leg. A rope or another hands-off approach could have been used to turn/ move/stabilise the load.

The lessons learned focused on better risk awareness when moving objects with blades or sharp edges: • protect the sharp edges: • arrange the lifting and moving of the load without actual manual handling – ropes, tag lines etc; • wait until more personnel are available and/or the vessel

www.osjonline.com

Confined space entry – USCG recommendations The USCG strongly encourages all who work or may be employed onboard vessels in any role, whether they be senior shipboard officers or crew, riding crew, shore side managers, owners/operators, and other personnel to: • Obtain the requisite level of knowledge and training of confined space entry procedures, including emergency and rescue procedures; • Ensure crews undergo periodic confined space training and participate in routine and practical onboard emergency drills; • Verify all required confined space entry and rescue safety equipment is onboard, maintained, tested and fully functional; and • Continually appreciate the dangers involved in confined space entry and educate yourself by further study.

is in port (as appropriate); and • use proper personal protective equipment, in this case gloves.

IMCA also detailed two incidents, which were reported in 2013, of crew members working on PSVs receiving injuries to their hands from sharp blades on mud-mixing equipment.

The first incident occurred during tank cleaning of a mud tank when a crewman lost his footing and, on putting his hand out to steady himself, sliced his finger through his gloves on the mud-mixer blade.

In the second incident, a crewman removed the protective cover fitted on the mud mixer in order to clean it. During this process he managed to rotate the blade into his own leg, causing a cut that required six stitches.

Skip-and-ship

OSVs are often used to aid in the disposal of drill cuttings from offshore platforms. When water-based drilling fluids are used, these can generally be safely dumped overboard; however, if oil-based drilling fluids are used the cuttings require specialist processing before they can be safely disposed of.

The efficient transfer of drill cuttings away from platforms is essential to avoid causing bottlenecks in drilling operations. A commonly used method of disposal is known as ‘skip-and-ship’. In this method, cuttings are collected from the shaker house on board the platform via a simple mechanical conveyance, such as a screw conveyor, that transfers the cuttings into a skip or storage box. These typically range in size between four and 11 tonnes and are lifted onto an OSV’s deck via crane operations before being

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

34 | BULK HANDLING AND TANK CLEANING

transported to shore-based processing facilities.

Drilling waste disposal specialist TWMA’s technical sales manager Andrew Morris outlined the pluses and minuses of this method of transfer. “We all know we only need one lift to have an accident, and when you’re doing a skip-andship operation you’re looking at maybe 5,000 lifts per well to contain all the drilling waste,” he says, adding: “If you can eliminate lifts you’re eliminating a high-risk operation.”

Bulk transfer offers an alternative to skip-and-ship operations if vessel-based transfer is required. In this method, cuttings are first transferred from shale shakers to a specially designed cuttings storage tank (CST) on the rig, and then pumped into CST units carried on the deck of an OSV. TWMA’s CST units have a 70 tonne capacity and are fitted with integrated positive displacement pumps. Each bulk storage tank can hold the equivalent of 12 or 13 skips’ worth of cuttings in a smaller footprint, making better use of space on the vessel’s deck. This allows more efficient use of vessels, Mr Morris says, noting that the space saved can be used for other supplies needed for the rig. “It can potentially lower costs because you don’t need as many vessels, but it also maximises the potential of a vessel on a rig site with these tanks,” he adds.

Storing the drill cuttings in CST units, rather than in a vessel’s integrated tanks, offers further benefits to vessel owners and operators. Mr Morris explains: “If you put [drilling waste] into the vessel’s tanks, it could settle while transferring onshore, which makes it more difficult to discharge when it gets there. Costly cleaning methods also need to be taken into account.”

Using CSTs designed to handle drilling waste means tank cleaning is not required, saving on costs and also avoiding the need for confined space access by the vessel’s crew. It also speeds up operations at the quayside, making for a quicker

turnaround, and provides better visibility on stored material.

However, deck storage of bulk cargo can bring its own challenges, as evidenced when reviewing safety alerts from recent years.

To give just one example from IMCA, which concerns an intermediate bulk container (IBC). The IBC, which held a tonne of monoethylene glycol, was being transferred using a vessel crane when it started to rotate, owing to the liquid inside sloshing around. This resulted in the lift rigging device being unable to support the load and the IBC falling 3.5 m to the vessel’s deck and bursting open, spilling its contents. No injuries were reported, and the spill was contained on board, avoiding damage to the environment.

However, it was found adequate risk assessment had not been carried out and that the lifting rig used was unsuitable for the task.

In another example from the Marine Safety Forum, a cargo carrying unit (CCU) containing an IBC came unlatched during lifting operations. On investigation, it was found that the IBC was not secured within the CCU, and that the CCU design did not include features such as internal securing points to allow the IBC to be secured, or external buffers to prevent snagging of the door handle.

The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has identified deck cargo operations on OSVs as posing a high safety risk and released an information paper, titled Deck Cargo Management Onboard Offshore Vessels, comprising guidance and best practices on how to make deck cargo operations safer. The guidance is targeted at offshore industry personnel, vessel crews and others. It covers topics including accountability of key personnel, best practices, routine lifting operations, manifests and stowage plans, and methods for cargo securing and lashing. OSJ

Guidance from OCIMF is designed to improve the safety of deck cargo operations on OSVs

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

www.osjonline.com

Maritime Cyber Risk Management Forum 25 June 2019, London

How prepared is the maritime industry for future cyber-attacks?

Recognising and addressing the risk Cyber security will only get the organisational attention needed once attitudes align to acknowledge cyber threat as a business risk. Ship operators should be questioning how vulnerable their vessels are. The 4th Maritime Cyber Risk Management Forum provides answers and offers an unrivalled opportunity for key industry stakeholders to analyse the industry’s cyber security preparedness.

Gain exclusive insights from an unparalleled line up of experts as they tackle the issues that matter to your business now and prepare you for what’s coming next: from cyber risk management regulations and compliance to how to prevent cyber-attacks from happening.

Don’t miss this interactive programme for a chance to learn, collaborate and discuss the actions that need to be taken to counter cyber threats.

Book your place online today at www.shipcybersecurity.com/book-now or for more information please contact Paul Dowling on +44 20 8370 7014 or at paul.dowling@rivieramm.com

In association with

Partners

Gold sponsor

Supporting media

Organised by

Veth Integrated L-drive The most compact thruster ever

Delivering Value, UK wide Ships Agency Marine Support Logistics

Extremely low mounting requirements, high efficiency, minimal noise production

• Independent • Experienced • Trusted “They have never taken us Golfing” Satisfied Ffolkes client

agency@ffolkesoffshore.com +44 (0) 1224 953 100

T +3178 615 22 66

www.ffolkesoffshore.com

www.vethpropulsion.com

BY

36 | IMCA NEWS

IMCA’s DP accreditation scheme off to a flying start IMCA’s technical adviser Captain Andy Goldsmith looks at the uptake of the newly launched DP accreditation scheme

W

ork on IMCA’s DP Practitioner Accreditation Scheme began in early 2018 when IMCA’s Marine Division Management Committee appointed a workgroup of DP experts from member companies, who have been developing the scheme ready for its launch at the beginning of May this year.

Far more people from around the world registered interest than we had hoped for, showing just how eagerly people have been waiting for the scheme to be officially opened.

The scheme is designed to improve the consistency and conduct of DP trials throughout our industry and to set a recognised level of knowledge for DP practitioners responsible for developing, witnessing and reporting DP trials, and those responsible for the management of the DP assurance processes.

There are two categories of accreditation: • A DP Trials and Assurance Practitioner – an individual actively involved in producing, witnessing and assessing the results of DP FMEA proving trials and DP annual trial programmes; and • A company DP Authority – the responsible individual managing DP assurance processes for a vessel operator or end charterer.

It is vital that DP practitioners attending vessels for trials and those conducting DP assurance duties in both vessel operators and client offices are accredited by an internationally

Offshore Support Journal | June 2019

recognised scheme such as IMCA’s, which ensures that the requirement of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) White Paper on DP assurance is met; and that DP trials practitioners and office-based personnel maintain and continually develop knowledge and competence.

For the individuals applying there are several benefits to becoming an accredited DP Trials and Assurance Practitioner or Company DP Authority. Successful applicants will be recognised by the industry for achieving accreditation. All accredited individuals will receive an electronic certificate to recognise their achievement, which can be downloaded and printed for display purposes. They can then state they are ‘IMCA accredited’ and will receive a dated (anniversary of accreditation date) photo ID card, which can be used to verify both their identity and their accreditation.

DP vessel operators and their clients will benefit in the knowledge that the person charged with providing assurance during DP trials and those managing DP operations in their own organisations are accredited to a recognised level.

Throughout the build-up to the official launch of the scheme we made it clear that before applying, applicants should satisfy themselves that they meet the requirements of qualifications, certification, experience

Andy Goldsmith (IMCA): “Far more people from around the world registered interest than we had expected”

and knowledge for their chosen category of application to avoid the risk of a failed application and associated costs. Requirements are clearly set out in the application pack and suite of supporting documentation, all of which can be found on IMCA’s website.

The examination is electronically delivered and consists of eight modules in a multiple-choice format (Code of Conduct, IMCA guidance documents, DP control systems, DP power systems, thrusters and thruster control systems, DP documentation, IMCA M190 – Guidance for Developing & Conducting DP Annual Trials Programmes and DP Scenarios). Each module consists of a randomised set of questions from a large question pool.

A list of successful applicants and those with expired accreditation is maintained by IMCA. Successful practitioners become ‘IMCA accredited’. OSJ For more information visit IMCA’s website or catch up with IMCA speakers who are presenting the DP Accreditation Scheme at the following events durng 2019: • International Institute Marine Surveyors (IIMS) Conference, 19 June (London) •DP Asia Conference, 3-4 July (Singapore) •Asia OSJ Conference, 17-18 September (Singapore)

www.osjonline.com

VROON OFFSHORE SERVICES CONNECTING MARKETS

VROON OFFSHORE SERVICES excels in the provision of diverse services and solutions for key offshore-support needs, including platform supply, emergency response and rescue, anchor handling tug supply, walk to work, crew transfer and subsea support. In addition, VOS offers a wide range of complementary offshore services.

With our versatile fleet and highly qualified and experienced colleagues, we are committed to providing safe, reliable and cost-effective services.

Vroon Offshore Services is an international operator with a strong geographical presence in Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Indian Ocean and Asian regions.

Find us on:

ABERDEEN | DEN HELDER | GENOA | SINGAPORE www.vroonoffshore.com

YOU BATTLE THE SEA. SO PROTECT YOUR SHIP WITH BATTLE-PROVEN ANTI-JAM TECHNOLOGY. The same battle-proven GNSS anti-jam technology protecting military forces around the world can now protect your vessel. GAJT® (GPS Anti-Jam Technology) can be easily installed on new or existing fleets, so it can be protecting your people right now. VERIPOS provides the world’s most accurate, reliable and best supported multi-constellation GNSS global navigation service, and now GAJT can also protect against GNSS interference. So no matter what the sea throws at you, you remain in command and in position with VERIPOS. The world’s most accurate. Fully supported 24/7.

GPS – GLONASS – BEIDOU – GALILEO – QZSS

veripos.com/GAJT