Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract to provide the design for a new jack-up lift vessel. The contract was signed in March with a well known Chinese yard and there is an option for three more vessels. The Wärtsilä design is developed in collaboration with Altis, a consultancy company specialising in the lift boat market.
Wärtsilä Ship Design has considerable experience in designing offshore and specialised vessels, and its selection for the design of a new, next generation, lift vessel is considered an acknowledgement of the company's strong track record. Lift vessels are self-propelled and provide an offshore elevating platform with manoeuvring capabilities to support various operations, including oil well intervention activities, and the maintenance, repairs, upgrades and removal of offshore rigs. This latest Wärtsilä design provides better performance compared to conventional designs. In particular its crane capacity, MLC (Maritime Labour Convention) compliance, accommodation, operational water depth, and DP2 (Dynamic Positioning) are all areas where improvements have been made.
"Wärtsilä was chosen to design this new series of vessels because of our expertise, as well as our strong track record in the offshore market. Furthermore, our global engineering and project development services mean that we can be a valuable local partner to both the yard and the owner," says Riku-Pekka Hägg, Vice President, Ship Design, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
The 70.5 metre long vessel can accommodate 250 people and will be capable of operating in water depths of up to 75 metres. It is scheduled for delivery to the customer in September, 2017.