New Class of Platform Support Vessels

Guido Perla and Associates (Seattle, USA) announced its design of a new class of platform support vessels for Rigdon Marine Corporation (Houston, Texas). A total of ten vessels are scheduled to be built at Bollinger Shipyards’ Lockport, Louisiana facility. The GPA 654 Platform Support Vessels will be a smaller version of GPA 640 vessels. The diesel-electric propulsion configuration allows for increased tank cargo capacities far beyond other vessels of similar size. The designer claims that innovative hull-lines offer increased speed, fuel efficiency, and crew comfort for the arduous work conditions in the offshore industry.

The GPA 654 vessels are 190-feet in length with a beam of 46-feet and 18-feet of depth. They are equipped with two stern-mounted, kort-nozzled, 360-degree azimuthing L-drives and one open propeller, fixed L-Drive. All three L-drives are fixed pitch and driven by 1130 hp @ 1040 rpm full range variable speed motors. A further enhancement to the diesel-electric drives is the technologically advanced dynamic positioning system and vessel management system that provides total redundancy, which is required for DP-2 certification. Consequently, if a vessel system fails, it can be bypassed without loss of control during cargo operations or while maintaining position at an offshore facility.

The GPA 654 vessel is capable of carrying 5,500 cubic feet of bulk material and 4,000 barrels of liquid mud in self-cleaning oval tanks. The vessels pumps deliver mud at 660 gallons per minute at a height of 196 feet above water. The 80-PSI air compressors can also deliver 50 metric tons of dry cement or barite per hour to the same height.