Ulstein Today no 1, 2005 - Ulstein Group

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The construction vessel currently being built at Ulstein Verft for ADSI is, among other
things, specifically designed for various subsea operations such as setting out anchor
systems for floating production vessels. (Illustration: FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS)
Yard number 271 for ADSI
“All ahead full on the
construction vessel”
On 20th January 2006, yard number 271 will be
delivered to Advanced Deep Sea Installation (ADSI),
a company owned by Solstad in Skudeneshavn and
Single Buoy Moorings in Monaco. The vessel will start
work off the coast of West Africa straight away.
“We shall try to stick to the date, even
though unfortunately it appears the
hull will be somewhat delayed coming
from Poland,” says project manager
Runar Muren of Ulstein Verft. “To
catch up we will have to go full ahead
during the holidays and do shift
work at the yard during the autumn.
Originally we had counted on a yard
holiday this year, but now some of the
workers will also come in during this
period as well.”
The construction vessel will be 123.8
metres long. With 6,000 tons of steel
in the complete vessel this will constitute
the most extensive steel project
Ulstein Verft has had. Only “Polarlys”,
the latest coastal express vessel that
was built at the yard, measures up in
terms of the number of hours that will
be spent on the build project.
“This offshore giant will actually be
even bigger than originally planned,”
explains Muren. “It was recently
decided that the load capacity of
the A frame, which will be used for
setting out the anchor systems of
FPSO`s, Floating Production and
Storage Offshore Loading, will be
increased from 250 to 350 tons.
I suppose this will be one of the
largest A frames ever mounted on
a vessel,” he says.
Some of the sections for the new
vessel are being finished at Ulstein
Verft’s outdoor site. One can now
start to see how big the dimensions of
this construction vessel are. When it is
delivered in the New Year it will start
work under an eight year contract.
Solstad Shipping
Choosing Ulstein’s
designs and vessels
Solstad Shipping was founded by
Captain Johannes Solstad in 1964.
Johannes became managing director
and his brother, Per Gunnar, joined as
deputy managing director three years
later. Last year the company celebrated
its 40th anniversary and the next
generation has now taken over the
day-to-day management.
Solstad Shipping currently has 31 vessels in operation
and two under construction. 800 people work onboard
the vessels, of which 650 are Norwegian, while 45
people are employed in its offices in Skudeneshavn in
Southern Norway and Aberdeen in Scotland. Solstad
and the Ulstein Group have worked closely together for
many years. The company has been listed on the Oslo
Stock Exchange since 1997, and the Solstad family owns
around half of the shares. The company is still family
run: Johannes’s son, Lars Peder, took over the post of
managing director a couple of years ago, and Johannes
and his brother, Per Gunnar, sit on the board of directors.
“I have retired but am at the office almost every day,
so is Per Gunnar. There’s nothing else to do here in
Skudeneshavn, you know,” says Johannes with a smile,
adding: “Lars Peder is the managing director now,
but I still like to know what is going on.”
WANTED TO BUILD NORWEGIAN OFFSHORE VESSELS
During its first few years the company bought and ran
liner vessels, but in 1973 the company got involved in
offshore activities.
“We saw the Dutch and American supply vessels that
turned up in the wake of the new oil industry in the
North Sea. We thought that, given that we had grown
up here, we must be able to build Norwegian offshore
vessels ourselves,” say Johannes and Per Gunnar.
The first offshore vessel Solstad ordered from Ulstein
Verft was “Normand Drott”, which was delivered in
1984. Thereafter came “Normand Jarl”, “Normand
Draupne” and “Normand Mjolne”, all of which were
delivered in 1985.
MANY ULSTEIN VESSELS
“In the latter half of the 1980s, the entire supply business
experienced a downturn and we did not order any
new vessels until we returned in 1995 with the building
of
“Normand Neptun”,” says Johannes.
The company now builds most of its new
vessels in Norway, and often uses Ulstein
Verft. So far it has built 15 new builds at
Ulstein Verft and carried out three major
conversions. “In addition, most of our
vessels were designed by Ulstein, either as
UT designs, which have now been taken
over by Rolls-Royce, or as one of the new
ULSTEIN series. Only 7 vessels in the current
fleet were designed by others. That’s a lot
of Ulstein vessels, both building and
design-wise,” says Johannes.
Solstad was also behind the realisation of
the first ULSTEIN series vessel at another
shipyard, when ordering an ULSTEIN P105
at Merwede Shipyard in the Netherlands.
THE BUILD TIME AND PRODUCT ARE CRITICAL
“At the moment we have two new builds
on order: one in the Netherlands and one
at Ulstein Verft. Ulstein Verft is in a strong
position because they have always delivered
a good product, on time. By far the most
expensive new build is “Normand
Installer” which is under construction at
Ulstein Verft. This is a large, advanced vessel.
The most important thing for us is what we
get for our money and not the actual price
itself. Another important reason for choosing
Ulstein Verft is the fact that the yard has
a tradition of being a part-owner in the vessels
being built at the yard, and then selling
their share later on. This makes it easier for
shipowners to raise the capital they need.”
HAVE FAITH IN THE FUTURE
The brothers believe there is a future for
the Norwegian maritime sector. Flags of
convenience are not on the agenda at
Solstad, and nor do they doubt that the
Norwegian shipyard sector has a future:
“The shipbuilding industry in Norway will
live on, at least when it comes to building
specialised ships. At the end of the day, one
cannot be certain that it is that much more
expensive to build in Norway, it all depends
on what shipowners define as most
important,” they say.
Of Solstad’s 31 vessels in service,
24 are ULSTEIN or UT designs, and
15 were built at Ulstein Verft.
VESSEL NAME Y.NUMBER YARD YEAR DESIGN
U L S T E I N T O D AY N O . 1 / 2 0 0 5 U L S T E I N T O D AY N O . 1 / 2 0 0 5
Former managing director
Johannes Solstad started Solstad
Shipping more than 40 years ago.
Normand Master 265 Ulstein Verft 2003 AHTS, ULSTEIN A101
Normand Flipper Kleven Verft 2003 PSV, UT 745E
Seabulk South Atlantic Aker Brevik 2003 AHTS, UT 710
Normand Mariner 262 Ulstein Verft 2002 AHTS, ULSTEIN A101
Normand Mermaid 261 Ulstein Verft 2002 MPSV, ULSTEIN P103
Normand Flower Søviknes Verft 2002 MPSV, UT 737
Normand Clipper 258 Ulstein Verft 2001 Cable-Laying and Repair
Vessel, VS 4125 - converted in
2005 at Ulstein Verft to a
Pipelaying Construction
Crane Vessel
Normand Cutter 257 Ulstein Verft 2001 Cable-Laying and Repair
Vessel, VS 4125 - converted in
2005 at Ulstein Verft to a
Pipelaying Construction
Crane Vessel
Normand Produce Aker Brevik 2001 PSV, UT 755
Normand Rover Søviknes Verft 2001 MPSV, UT 745L
Normand Borg Aker Langsten 2000 AHTS, UT 722L
Normand Vibran Aker Brevik 2000 PSV, UT 755
Normand Progress 247 Ulstein Verft 1999 MPSV, UT 742
Normand Pioneer 236 Ulstein Verft 1999 MPSV, UT 742
Normand Vester 224 Ulstein Verft 1998 PSV, UT 745
Normand Atlantic 240 Ulstein Verft 1997 AHTS, UT 740
Normand Neptun 239 Ulstein Verft 1996 AHTS, UT 740
Normand Carrier Simek 1996 PSV, UT 745
Normand Skarven 197 Ulstein Verft 1986 SSV, UT 716
Normand Mjolne 193 Ulstein Verft 1985 SSV, UT 718
Normand Draupne 192 Ulstein Verft 1985 SSV, UT 718
Normand Jarl 187 Ulstein Verft 1985 AHTS, UT 712
Normand Drott 188 Ulstein Verft 1984 AHTS, UT 712
Normand Prosper Haugesund MV 1983 AHTS, UT 704
Normand Tonjer Eide Verft 1983 PSV, UT 705- converted in
2000 at Ulstein Verft to a
multipurpose ROV vessel
Normand Ranger Haugesund MV 1982 AHTS, UT 704
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