Close clustering facilitates access and improves quality

DUTCH MARITIME INDUSTRY The Dutch maritime and offshore industries benefit from conveniently situated marine hubs such as Rotterdam, a rich maritime history and innovative, highly specialised companies. A booming international offshore market – in the oil and gas as well as wind energy sectors – provides plenty of promising opportunities for shipyards, suppliers and operators alike.

In 2013, the highly specialised Dutch mari-time industry was once again able to suc-cessfully assert itself in the global market,

especially by participating in the growing off-shore segment. The past 12 months brought lucrative contracts for some of the indus-tries’ main players, such as orders worth over EUR 1 billion won by IHC Merwede for six pipe-laying vessels (see page 38).

Leading maritime and offshore associa-tions in the Netherlands also see a bright fu-ture for the industry. In his forecast for 2014, Sander Vergroesen, managing director of the Association of Dutch Suppliers in the Oil and Gas Industry, said, “Due to our rich maritime history, unique equipment and innovative so-lutions regarding complex offshore projects, we again foresee a very promising year.”

Making a nod to the major role played by international projects in the success of the Netherlands’ maritime industry, he added,

“Dutch suppliers in the upstream oil and gas industry can, and will, be found in the most challenging projects worldwide.”

J.J.C.M. van Dooremalen, chairman of the Holland Shipbuilding Association, notes in the foreword to the Maritime by Holland Catalogue 2014 that the “internationalisation of the Dutch maritime industry and the ex-port alignment of our shipyards and maritime sub-suppliers/contractors have been very successful.”

In the view of Peter Zoeteman, the associ-ation’s managing director, “The close cluster-ing of the Dutch maritime companies within a small geographical area is very beneficial to the cooperation between them and makes life very easy for clients when they visit the Neth-erlands.

Moreover, the uniform quality of the products and services is quite remarkable. This will be crucial in the near future as there

is bound to be price pressure from firms in trouble elsewhere whose only weapon is (unsustainably) low prices. Shipowners who go for the short-term win end up with poor quality. The long-term nature of the Dutch in-dustry means we will still be here when false

MARITIME >BY HOLLAND

Maritime by Holland is a joint initiative of 12,000 companies powering the maritime sector in Holland, comprising the elev-en sectors shipping, shipbuild-ing, marine equipment suppli-ers, off shore, inland shipping, dredging, ports, maritime serv-ices, fi shing, the Royal Nether-lands Navy and yachtbuilding industry.

Photo: Ampelmann

36 Ship & Off shore | 2014 | Nº 1

SPEC

IAL:

DU

TCH

MA

RIT

IME

IND

UST

RY

Close clustering facilitates access and improves quality

Ph

oto

: Am

pe

lma

nn

SPI_001-14_36_41_20140127144525_579456.indd 36 27.01.2014 14:45:35

economies are recognised as such and people realise that quality pays.”

The Dutch shipbuilding cluster: facts and figures

The Holland Shipbuilding Association ex-pects shipbuilding sector revenues in 2013 to be roughly equal to, or slightly more than, those of 2012. According to the association’s published figures, the Dutch shipbuilding cluster had a turnover of EUR 6.1 billion and total, full-time employment of 29,500 in 2012. In all, 95 seagoing vessels were de-livered.

For the approximately 670 Dutch mari-time suppliers, the association calculated a total turnover of EUR 3.37 billion in 2012. Total, full-time employment in the Dutch maritime supply sector was more than 17,600. Turn over in the repair and retrofit segment reached EUR 551 million.

At the end of 2012, order books contained contracts for 129 seagoing vessels totalling approximately 593,893 gt and representing a value of more than EUR 52 billion.

Shortage of qualified personnel

Both the offshore and maritime industries in the Netherlands face a shortage of quali-fied personnel. To attract greater numbers of junior employees, various projects have been initiated. One is Future Pioneers, hosted by Maritime by Holland in cooperation with Ahoy Rotterdam during the Europort exhi-bition in November, in which various activi-ties were organised for and by talented young people.

According to the Maritime by Holland Catalogue 2014, figures for students entering universities and technical schools with the aim to work in the maritime industry are en-couraging, however.

The ”axe bow” concept was developed by the Damen Shipyards Group, Delft University of Technology, MARIN, the Royal Netherlands Navy, Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding and the US Coast Guard

Photo: Damen

New designs and major ordersDAMEN | Operating more than 50 ship-yards, repair yards and related companies worldwide, the Damen Group has a wide product range including tug boats, cargo vessels, dredgers, mega-yachts and offshore vessels. Delivering up to 150 vessels annu-ally, the group reported further orders over the last few months.

Next-generation Twin Axe FCS 2610

The Dutch company Offshore Wind Services BV (OWS), a specialist in crew transfer ves-sels for the offshore wind industry, is the first to order the next-generation Damen Twin Axe Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2610.

After the contract was signed at the end of 2013, construction of the new vessel be-gan immediately; it is set to be delivered in October of this year.

Introduced to the market in 2011, the Damen Twin Axe FCS 2610 has already established itself as “the industry stand-ard” for the offshore wind market, capable of operating further offshore in rougher weather conditions, while ensuring safe transfer and vast cargo capacity, Damen said. For the next-generation vessel, facili-ties for the technicians and crew have been improved, with the addition of a pantry, changing room and a spare part area eas-ily accessible at deck level. Furthermore,

the operational capacity of the vessel has been upgraded by introducing modifica-tions to bow thrusters and gearboxes. And eight CCTV cameras give full coverage of the decks and vessel boundaries, which in-creases safety levels.

Ice-class RoRo ferry for Canada

The government of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador has award-ed Damen Shipyards Group an order for an 80m-long ice-class ferry, which will operate on the Fogo Island - Change Islands service. Scheduled for delivery in September 2015, the 14-knot RoRo ferry will be able to carry up to 200 passengers and 60 vehicles.

The investment in the new ferry is part of the government’s vessel renewal programme. It will replace the ageing Captain Earl Winsor.

The ferry was designed by a Canadian en-gineering firm and Damen Shipyards Group says it is looking forward to further enhancing its working relationship with the company to ensure that the new vessel meets all relevant requirements.

Together with the government of New-foundland and Labrador, Damen also plans to explore more opportunities for closer in-volvement in local communities and devel-opment of the shipbuilding industry in the region.

Rendering of the new FCS 2610 Picture: Damen

Ship & Off shore | 2014 | Nº 1 37

SPI_001-14_36_41_20140127144525_579456.indd 37 27.01.2014 14:45:41

Upon its delivery the Sapura Diamante will be used to develop deep-sea oilfields

of up to 2,500m in Brazilian waters for Petrobras

Photo: IHC Merwede

SUBSEA7 / SEABRAS SAPURA | IHC Mer-wede, a specialist in dredging and mining vessels and equipment as well as a supplier of innovative ships and supplies for offshore construction, had a very successful 2013. At year’s end, the shipyard had ten offshore vessels on order from Brazil’s state-control-led oil company Petrobras, six from Seabras Sapura and four from Subsea 7.

In August 2013, IHC Merwede‘s off-shore division in Krimpen aan den IJssel secured orders worth over EUR 1 billion for the design, engineering and construc-tion of six pipe-laying vessels. Deals were signed with Subsea 7 (three vessels) and Seabras Sapura (three vessels), a partner-ship between Malaysia’s SapuraKencana and Norwegian-managed Seadrill. The six ships join four others from an order in 2012.

Seabras Sapura

IHC Merwede will supply three fully integrat-ed pipe-laying vessels to Seabras Sapura. They will include the complete pipe-laying spreads, which comprise a twin-tensioner tilting lay tower, two below-deck baskets and support equipment for the loading, spooling and routing of products. The flex-lay system will be the highest capacity flex-lay system on board a pipelay vessel and is designed and built for the installation of flexible pipelines in water depths of up to 3,000m. The integrated automation system, full electrical installation and electrical ma-chinery package will also be designed and delivered by IHC Merwede. In addition,

a pipe-laying simulator will be provided to assist Seabras Sapura in training its off-shore personnel. When combined with ex-isting orders, this latest agreement means that IHC Merwede is now working on a total of six pipe-laying vessels for Seabras Sapura.

Subsea 7

The orders received from Subsea 7, a long-standing IHC Merwede customer, are for three ships with a design identical to that of the Seven Waves, which was launched in May 2013 and is to be delivered to Sub-sea 7 in the first quarter of 2014. With an overall length of 146m, a beam of 30m and a DP2 system, the vessels will be equipped for transporting and installing flexible flow-lines and umbilicals in water depths of up to 3,000m. As in the existing order for the Seven Waves, IHC Merwede will integrate the pipe-laying spreads into the design of the three new vessels.

All six vessels will be built at IHC Mer-wede‘s extensive, state-of-the-art shipbuild-ing facilities in the Netherlands. They will be delivered between the first half of 2015 and second half of 2016.

Equipment from Huisman

The Seven Waves will be equipped with a 550-tonne flex-lay system and 400-tonne offshore mast crane from Huisman, a Dutch specialist in lifting, drilling and subsea solu-tions.

The tower is tiltable to allow connection of flexible risers to rigid pipelines that are re-

trieved from the seabed. The system’s tension-ers are retractable to allow safe and efficient A&R and PLET installation procedures. They have been designed to the most stringent re-quirements and are equipped with a squeeze control system, which enables accurate con-trol of squeeze loads, also at low values. This is important when handling umbilicals.

The crane (up to a water depth of 3,000m) is equipped with a deep-water lowering system and an active heave com-pensation system to counteract the vessel’s heaving motion when landing a load on the seabed. These features will make it an effi-cient tool for the installation of heavy loads required for deep-water subsea production systems.

Latest order

In November 2013, IHC Merwede was award-ed a contract for the design, construction and delivery of a 23,684-kW, self-propelled cutter suction dredger (CSD) from Netherlands-based Royal Boskalis Westminster, a global services provider in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors. The 152m-long, 28m-wide vessel will be one of the largest CSDs of its kind in the world, IHC Merwede said.

Much attention has been paid to the design in terms of safety, the environment and increased operational workability. A particular feature of the vessel, which has a maximum dredging depth of 35m, is the widening of the aft ship to reduce draught. It offers accommodation for 45 people.

IHC Merwede secures orders worth over EUR 1 billion for six pipe-laying vessels

38 Ship & Off shore | 2014 | Nº 1

SPEC

IAL

: DU

TCH

MA

RIT

IME

IND

UST

RY

SPI_001-14_3 _41_20140127144525_57945 .indd 38 27.01.2014 14:45:47

Mid-scale FLNG: a solution for stranded gas fi elds

The twin hull FLNG concept

Pictures: SBM Offshore

CONVERSION | SBM Offshore, a Dutch spe-cialist in floating production and mooring systems, production operations and termi-nals and services, is currently developing a pioneering floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) concept with a liquefaction capac-ity of 1.5 – 2.0 mtpa.

Although building a new facility is possi-ble, SBM chose to convert LNG tankers into FLNG facilities – in much the same way as has been successfully done for oil FPSOs. The advantages of this concept include lower costs and a shorter schedule.

This innovative topside layout is achieved by joining two Moss LNG carriers. The “twin hull” concept allows the process facilities to be configured with the necessary space be-tween sections of equipment to satisfy safety requirements, while providing sufficient LNG storage capacity.

This size is suitable for stranded gas fields between 0.5 Tcf and 2 Tcf but will also be ca-pable of handling associated gas from larger oil fields. It is also a good fit with SBM’s cur-rent FPSO product line in terms of project scale, risk and investment, the company said.

SBM has performed generic pre-FEED work together with German LNG specialist Linde Engineering. The design caters to a wide range of potential reservoir compositions and environmental conditions, which can then be easily optimised for specific fields.

For the mid-scale FLNG concept, a pre-cooled dual nitrogen expansion process without natural gas liquid (NGL) recovery has been selected, providing an optimum balance between efficiency, simplicity, ro-bustness and safety.

According to SMB, operators have al-ready expressed great interest in the new technology.

Order from Fassmer shipyard for Helgoland ferryIMTECH MARINE | Fassmer shipyard, lo-cated in Berne, northern Germany, and AG Ems, which is the Emden-based par-ent company of Cassen Eils shipping line, recently signed a contract for construction of a new Helgoland ferry. Rotterdam-based Imtech Marine received the order for all

of the electrical systems and electron-ics. Apart from the engineering, the order includes the technical coordination and project management. Imtech will provide the ship automation, switchgears, motor starters, distribution panels and lighting as well as the complete cable network. In ad-

dition, Imtech Marine will supply the navi-gation and communication equipment for the ferry.

The LNG-fuelled vessel offers space for 1,000 passengers and up to ten cargo con-tainers and will ensure year-round ferry serv-ice to the North Sea island of Helgoland.

Ship & Off shore | 2014 | Nº 1 39

SPI_001-14_3 _41_20140127144525_57945 .indd 39 27.01.2014 14:45:54

Ulstein-designed Aegir wins KVNR Shipping Award

The deep-water construction vessel Aegir will be capable of execu-ting complex infrastructure and pipeline projects in ultra-deep water and also have sufficient lifting capacity to install fixed platforms in relatively shallow water

HMC | In November, Heerema Marine Contractors’ (HMC) new deep-water con-struction vessel Aegir, a customised Ulstein SOC 5000 design developed by Ulstein Sea of Solutions (USOS), won the KVNR Shipping Award by the Royal Association of Dutch Shipowners.

The 211m-long, 46m-wide vessel is de-signed for worldwide operations and suited for executing complex infrastructure and pipeline projects in ultra-deep water. It is capable of switching between various pipelay modes and has sufficient lifting capacity to install fixed plat-forms in relatively shallow water as well as per-

form installations in deep water. The maximum water depth at which it can operate is 3,500m. Aegir’s offshore mast crane can lift 4,000 tonnes. Its first project, for the US-based Anadarko Pe-troleum Corporation, will be the installation of risers at a depth of 2,000m in the Lucius oil field in the Gulf of Mexico.

Photo: Ulstein Sea of Solutions - Aerolin Scherm

Innovative applications

Ampelmann focuses on development and construction of safe offshore access solutions Photo: Ampelmann

OFFSHORE ACCESS PLATFORMS | Ampel-mann Operations is a high-tech offshore company focusing on development, con-struction and leasing of offshore access solutions. It was founded in 2008 as a spin-off of the Delft University of Technology. The core technology is the Ampelmann system, a motion-compensation platform that allows easy, fast and safe access from a moving vessel to offshore structures, even in high-wave conditions. With a doubling of its fleet every year since 2008, Ampel-mann currently operates 20 systems world-wide, transferring offshore crew from vari-ous types of vessels to offshore oil and gas platforms, offshore turbines, FPSOs and all

other kinds of fixed and floating structures at sea.

Ampelmann’s base model is the A-type. The platform has 2m-stroke cylinders and gangways of 20 and 25m maximum reach. The newly developed (2012) workhorse is the E-type. With 3m-stroke cylinders, the sys-tem can carry up to 100 tonnes of payload. It can be fitted with standard A-type gangways and client-specific gangway and crane types reaching a maximum of 65m.

Ampelmann continues to build its fleet of standard systems, adding innovative ap-plications in ship-to-ship functionality, cargo transfer, hose support, refuelling operations and continuous transfer.

40 Ship & Off shore | 2014 | Nº 1

SPEC

IAL:

DU

TCH

MA

RIT

IME

IND

UST

RY

SPI_001-14_3 _41_20140127144525_57945 .indd 40 27.01.2014 14:45:58

Two newbuildings for Sea Trucks GroupDP3 | Sea Trucks Group (STG), owner and operator of multi-purpose DP3 con-struction and accommodation vessels, is increasing its fleet with two vessels. The Nigeria-headquartered company, whose European office is in Rotterdam, will take delivery of Jascon 18, a deep-water pipelay construction vessel, in the third quarter of

2014. Currently undergoing outfitting in Singapore, the 11,890dwt vessel – 150m long, 36.8m wide and with twin work-ing decks – is the deep-water flagship of the group’s DP3 offshore construction vessel fleet. It has been built according to the STG’s hybrid design philosophy and is capable of performing a wide variety of

marine construction and pipelay tasks in both ultra-deep water and continental shelf environments. The ship will be able to of-fer accommodation for approximately 400 people in 123 cabins.

The hull of the second newbuilding, the Jascon 35, is currently under construction in China.

Barge Master to do duty on Niestern Sander’s new vessel

A Barge Master crane during operation in the North Sea Photo: Barge Master

WALK-TO-WORK VESSEL | Last autumn, Barge Master, a Dutch developer of motion-compensated platforms for the marine and offshore industries, was awarded a contract by the Netherlands’ Niestern Sander for the T40 Barge Master.

The motion-compensated crane will be employed on Niestern Sander’s new walk-to-work vessel, which is currently be-ing built for the Dutch shipping company

Wagenborg and scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2015. The crane will be used to service and maintain gas produc-tion platforms in the North Sea.

The vessel can accommodate 20 crew members and 40 service technicians. Chemicals can be stored and transferred safely, and thanks to the T40 Barge Master system, materials can be transferred in wave heights of up to 3m.

First EDDY tug to be deliveredHOLLAND SHIPYARDS | After an elaborate engineering and design process, the first EDDY (the acronym comes from Efficient Double-ended DYnamic) tug is due to be delivered in June 2014. Built by Hol-land Shipyards, the 30.3m-long, 13.4m-wide EDDY 30-65 has a bollard pull of 65 tonnes. At a draught of 4.75m, it reach-es a maximum speed of 14 knots.

The EDDY tug concept was introduced in 2008. Since then, it has undergone com-prehensive testing and fine-tuning. The result is a tugboat that is ready to face to-day’s challenges in the towage market, its builder said.

Issues such as efficiency, safety and economy have been effectively addressed

by incorporating features including hy-brid propulsion, all-round fendering, sev-eral watertight compartments in the hull and a Kraaijeveld SafeWinch.

The vessel can be operated in any di-rection without significant reductions in performance. The slender hull shape will decrease drag and consequently lead to fuel savings and higher transit speeds.

Vessel handling is very intuitive, which promotes greater operational safety.

With its unique propulsion arrange-ment, push and pull forces can be prompt-ly provided in any direction. And when the tug is operating at speed, dynamic forces of twice the bollard pull can be gen-erated.

Azimuthal propulsion will be provided by two newly developed Schottel SRP 3000 thrusters, making the EDDY tug the first tugboat to incorporate them.

Power will be supplied by two 1,610 kW Mitsubishi S16R main engines and two generators with a capacity of 568 kW. In free sailing conditions, the tug can easily reach a transit speed of 9 to 10 knots pure-ly on its generators, resulting in significant fuel and maintenance savings. When max-imum power is needed, the electromotors boost the two main engines, giving a bol-lard pull of 65 tonnes.

Spacious accommodations are provid-ed in five cabins, all with en-suite sanitary facilities.

Ship & Off shore | 2014 | Nº 1 41

SPI_001-14_3 _41_20140127144525_57945 .indd 41 27.01.2014 14:4 :02