Power Plant for Offshore Construction Vessel

Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract by Ulstein Verft (Norway) for a 23 MW power plant to be installed in a new offshore construction vessel being built by Ulstein for the Norwegian offshore company Solstad Offshore and the Swiss-based company Single Buoy Moorings (SBM). The 124 m long vessel, to be named "Normand Installer", is designed by Vik-Sandvik (Norway). The vessel will be equipped with a diesel-electric power plant incorporating two Wärtsilä 16V32 and two 8L32 diesel generating sets.

Each Wärtsilä 16V32 engine develops 7680 kW, and the 8L32 engine develops 3840 kW, both at 720 rpm. Electric propulsion motors will be coupled to twin Wärtsilä SV105 reduction gears to drive the twin Lips CPS115 controllable-pitch propellers running in Lips HR nozzles. Wärtsilä will also supply four Lips CT250M-D tunnel thrusters and a Lips FS225-240/MNR retractable thruster. The vessel is designed to be extremely versatile in its capabilities based upon the experience of both Solstad Offshore and SBM. It has a large working deck aft, with a working area of about 2500 square meters on two decks, together with a moon pool. There is a 500-tonne winch, a 250-tonne subsea crane and a 250-tonne capacity A-frame over the stern.

The vessel is due for delivery in January 2006. It will be operated by Solstad Offshore and has been chartered for a period of eight years to SBM for the installation and maintenance of its floating production systems and single-point mooring (SPM) systems around the world. It will be required to undertake a great variety of tasks in deep water.