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Norway's Havyard Group has signed a contract for the construction of a Havyard 833 WE ICE platform supply vessel (PSV) with Icelandic offshore shipping company Fafnir Offshore HF.

The vessel is due to be designed by Havyard Design and Solutions in Fosnavaag and will be constructed at Havyard Ship Technology`s yard in Leirvik in Sogn, Norway. The vessel has a contract value of just above NOK 350 million and is due to be delivered in July 2015.

Investment in technology development

Havyard says the 833 WE ICE is a newly developed PSV design based on the most recent fuel-efficient technology and eco-friendliness. The PSV is designed to operate as efficiently as possible and with the least amount of influence from exposed waters, in say, the Arctic region.

Hull lines that have recently been employed in a smaller PSV design (Havyard 832 L WE) and for windmill service vessels have been developed for the reduction of fuel consumption and increased comfort for crew both in calm and heavy seas. The superstructure is designed to make it easy to maintain an ice-free ship in Arctic areas. The vessel is designed according to the latest environmental demands such as Clean Design class; it has low emission engines and is prepared for catalysts.

Havyard says the greatest innovation onboard this vessel is that it is equipped with a hybrid battery- powered diesel-electric propulsion system.

"When we develop a new ship design we have two main focal points," said Arve Helsem Leine, Design Manager of Havyard Design & Solutions. "Those are the customer`s demands in relation to the ship`s operational needs and area of operation and also to use the latest accessible technology and research tools in order to make the ship as efficient as possible. We have invested a lot in our design philosophy and in our calculation tools and methods for testing. We also work closely with key suppliers in developing good solutions for our designs and hybrid battery power is a good example of this."

Efficient energy when needed

The idea of hybrid battery diesel-electric propulsion system is the same as for hybrid cars, namely to produce energy as efficiently as possible while also having access to necessary power whenever it is needed.

A typical PSV has large variations within its energy needs depending on the operation being carried out. Going from A to B demands a certain need for energy and a different need is created when it is operating by an oil rig. Weather and wind conditions, waves and currents, also play their part in the swift variations of energy requirements.

"In traditional diesel-electric propulsion systems the diesel generators' load will vary according to the alternating energy needs," said Design Manager Leine. "This means that diesel engines cannot constantly operate within a load area where these engines have the lowest possible fuel consumption."

"With hybrid battery power you can constantly operate diesel generators at an optimal level. When energy demands vary you can either charge or discharge batteries, depending on whether the energy demands are lower or higher than the capacity of diesel generators in operation. Response time in relation to variation in power demands is also a lot shorter, so there is a quicker transfer of power to the ship`s thrusters which ensures a more precise and secure positioning, for example in operations by an offshore rig.

"The hybrid system for this ship is developed in close cooperation with Norwegian Electric Systems and shows exactly how important cooperation within the value chain is, in order to bring forth the best products. This hull design combined with hybrid battery power ensure that a PSV in given operations uses 30 to 40% less fuel compared to a traditional PSV," says Leine.

Icelandic with ambitions

This latest contract is the second Havyard has signed with Fafnir Offshore. On April 4, 2014, the hull of Havyard`s newbuild 120, Fafnir`s first newbuild, arrived at the Leirvik shipyard in Sogn, Norway.

Steingrímur Erlingsson is the founder and CEO of Fafnir. Erlingsson has a background as a fishing boat owner and he has amongst other things operated a shipping company in Canada. After selling off his fishing interests he was looking for fresh investment prospects and focus turned to the offshore oil industry.

"It has been a pleasure to cooperate with Havyard Group in the process of designing and constructing our first offshore vessel," said Steingrímur Erlingsson, founder and CEO of Fafnir. "The project is unique in many respects. It was the most expensive vessel contracted by an Icelandic shipowner; it is the first vessel for an Icelandic company to operate in the oil industry, and not least, it is the first indication that Iceland is taking its first step in the offshore industry."

Erlingsson added: "In Fafnir, we have learnt a lot from the people we have come to know in Fosnavaag. They, like us, have businesses originating from fishery which gradually turned into offshore businesses. I must also point out that it has been a privilege working with Havyard when it comes to finding solutions for technical challenges in such an advanced vessel like our first contract, a Havyard 832 L WE design. It is a vessel for the future with low fuel consumption and good manoeuvring characteristics. It is no coincidence that we now order our second vessel from Havyard. In the Havyard 833 WE ICE design, we have continued our cooperation with Havyard and further developed the PSV concept. The vessel is also designed to operate in the Arctic region and the hybrid battery power allows us to save even more on fuel expenses. Havyard really does live up to its vision «Improving life at sea» and we have great faith in the future and our cooperation with Havyard. That`s why we have also secured an option for construction of a sister ship to be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2015 and we strongly believe we will take advantage of this option."

Havyard technology

When Havyard Group constructs a PSV, the group develops and controls a major part of the technology that go into the ship.

Havyard Design & Solutions in Fosnavaag develops the design and delivers most of the detail engineering used for construction of the vessel.

Aalesund-based Havyard Power & Systems carries out electro engineering and electro installations and delivers Havyard IASTM integrated automation- and alarm systems, Havyard ConceptBridgeTM integrated bridge solutions and NavCom package.

Havyard Ship Technology, which has a shipyard in Leirvik in Sogn and a branch office in Fosnavaag, is responsible for project management, procurement, follow-up of hull construction in Turkey, outfitting, testing and completion of the vessel, and aftermarket service for the vessel in operation.

In addition, Norwegian Electric Systems, a company 40 % owned by Havyard, delivers a complete hybrid battery powered diesel-electric propulsion system.

All in all and even with the hull manufactured in Turkey, Havyard Group says it is behind 40 % of value added during construction of such a vessel, with most of it performed by companies in Norway.

"Havyard Group is a ship technology group with focus on developing competitive products and systems, based on competence of and having control of the value chain," said CEO Geir Johan Bakke of Havyard Group. "Our greatest asset is quality products and services adding value to the customer. Our business model with products in ship design, equipment and shipbuilding, provide us with flexibility when we offer exactly what the customer wants, whether the customer wishes to construct in Norway or internationally."

Key data Havyard 833 WE ICE:

Length - 89.7 m
Breadth - 19.6 m
Speed - 15 knots
Deck area - 1000 m2
Crew - 25 persons
Dead weight - 4250 tonnes