Ulstein Today no 1, 2005 - Ulstein Group

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Building the first ULSTEIN P101
Island Offshore are getting
an exceptional vessel
In January, Ulstein Verft signed a contract with Island Offshore in Ulsteinvik, Norway,
concerning the building of a large ULSTEIN P101 multipurpose platform supply vessel
designed by Ulstein Design. The vessel will be delivered at the end of March next year.
The vessel will be operated by Island
Offshore Management in Ulsteinvik.
The company’s chairman of the board,
Morten Ulstein, believes the vessel will be
much in demand: “The pure platform supply
market is probably in the process of being
saturated, but there are many other market
segments. The season starts in March-April
and it is therefore important to have the
vessel ready and be in position when the
demand arises. I think the vessel will primarily
work in the North Sea, but don’t discount
the idea that it could go abroad,” he says.
“The vessel can also be used for subsea
purposes, which we believe there will be
a demand for in the future. We believe
the new vessel will do a good job,” says
Island Offshore Management’s president,
Håvard Ulstein.
GOOD SEA KEEPING QUALITIES
An ULSTEIN P101 has particularly good sea
keeping qualities with gentle movements
and is a fine platform for most operations.
“The vessel is 95 metres long with a 20.5
metre beam, and is fitted out for 87 people
in one and two-man cabins,” says Ulstein
Verft’s sales manager, Harald Møller. “It
is equipped with a moon pool mezzanine
deck, helicopter deck and DP2. The vessel
will also be equipped with a 130 ton crane
and ROV hangar. It will have a diesel electric
propulsion system and be economical to
operate,” he says.
PRICE AND QUALITY CRITICAL
“We contacted several possible shipyards,
but did not contact overseas yards. We
don’t think anyone other than a Norwegian
yard could manage a build project of this
Island Offshore Management
believes the multipurpose
ULSTEIN P101 platform supply
vessel from Ulstein Design will be
much in demand.
scope within a 14 month build period,” says
Morten Ulstein. Håvard Ulstein adds that
Ulstein Verft was chosen on the basis of
price and quality, which Ulstein Verft’s
president, Tore Ulstein appreciates:
“Ulstein Verft is competitive when it
comes to building advanced offshore
vessels. The Island Offshore Group does a
lot of exciting things and is proving this
once again by choosing a new vessel design.
The geographical proximity between the
shipyard and the shipowner is important,
not just locally, but also with respect to
cooperation and value creation
in the regional maritime cluster in Norway,”
he stresses. The vessel will be the second
Ulstein designed vessel in the Island
Offshore fleet. In April, the company
took delivery of an ULSTEIN P105,
“Island Patriot” from Ulstein Verft.
- ULSTEIN P105 a successful design
“Out here there are four to five metre waves and 30 knot side winds. We are now on our way to
a hose job, and I don’t think this would be possible with another ship design in this weather.”
Captain Asgeir Vidnes is extremely pleased
with his new vessel. When we spoke to
him just two weeks after delivery, “Island
Patriot” was in the Grane field in the North
Sea. Following its delivery on 18th March
from Ulstein Verft, the new platform supply
vessel immediately went to work for the
oil company Hydro, servicing the Oseberg
and Grane fields from its base in Mongstad,
north of Bergen in Norway.
LITTLE MOVEMENT
“The ULSTEIN P105 appears to be a
successful design,” continues Vidnes. “It
lies better in the sea and the movements
are less than I am used to from previous
vessels.”
“What does that mean for the crew and for
your work?”
“First and foremost it means a lot as far as
comfort onboard is concerned. With gentle
movements we don’t have to walk around
clinging onto something all the time when
the weather is a bit unpleasant. That can be
pretty tiring. Having a steadier vessel also
means fewer limitations with regard to the
work we can do. It would be difficult to
carry out the hose job we are going to now,
given the large wave heights, if we had a
vessel that moved more in choppy seas.”
GOOD SPACE
Asgeir Vidnes also likes the crew areas on
board and the facilities for smokers such
as himself:
“There is plenty of space in the mess and
the crew areas are spacious. We have a
separate smoking room so that no one is
bothered by those who smoke.”
The captain also thinks it is important that
the crew have access to the Internet and
telephones to landline services. This means
a lot when it comes to well-being.
“But there must be some teething problems
with a brand new vessel?”
“Nothing worth mentioning,” replies
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Captain of “Island Patriot”
Island Offshore´s Captain
Asgeir Vidnes highly
appreciates the sea keeping
abilities of “Island Patriot”.
Vidnes. “Though with so much advanced
equipment onboard there is always something
that doesn’t function exactly as it
should, but nothing that can’t be rectified
quickly. We had a bit of a problem with a
couple of pumps and a steering engine, but
they are being put right.”
TO QATAR
“Island Patriot” will work in a good
spot market in the North Sea during the
summer. The vessel went straight into a
ten day contract with Hydro after it was
delivered, and this job was extended by
a few days. In August the vessel will set
course for Qatar in the Persian Gulf where
it will carry pipes for Saipem for six months.
“We will have an exciting voyage through
the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal to
Qatar. Here we will also be able to see what
it is like being onboard in the heat of the
tropics,” says Asgeir Vidnes expectantly.
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