The EnigmaExposedConverting a working vessel into a luxury yacht is notunlike transforming a heavy goods vehicle into a mobilehome. So it is entirely appropriate that the owner of71m Enigma XK, formerly M/V Norna of the ScottishFisheries Protection Agency (SFPA), started out in businessconverting ex-military trucks into commercial vehiclesfor export to developing countries. Our European editorJustin Ratcliffe reports from the Atlantic Refit Center inLa Rochelle on this challenging conversion project.THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 143 29
conversion report | Enigma XK“He liked the idea ofrecycling a perfectlyfunctional and well-builtmilitary vessel...When hecame across Norna, heknew he’d found whathe was looking for.”below: the original main enginegauges have been retained.right: Norna in the dry dock as thecocoon was constructed over her.Given his mechanical knowledgeand hands-on experience,when the owner began looking foran explorer-style vessel also suitablefor charter he never seriouslyconsidered anything but a conversion.It took him several years, but in thesummer of 2011 he tracked down thedecommissioned M/V Norna throughthe Eagle Shipping brokerage inCuxhaven, Germany, and promptlyclosed the deal. “He liked the idea ofrecycling a perfectly functional andwell-built military vessel,” confirmscaptain and owner’s representativeIltud Orio, who joined the projectshortly after the sale. “When he cameacross Norna, he knew he’d found whathe was looking for.”Norna had the traditional funnelsand rugged lines the owner found soappealing in working vessels. At 1,385gtthere was also sufficient interior volumefor comfort, combined with extensiveexterior deck space for explorer-styletenders and toys. But as he was lookingto circumnavigate the globe with his‘new’ yacht, visiting both Poles andpossibly exploring the Amazon basinalong the way, robustness and selfsufficiencywere the key considerations.Heavy-duty construction was a givenfor a vessel designed to operate atspeeds of up to 18 knots for threeweeks at a time and withstandeverything the North Sea could throwat her. Norna’s steel hull was built tobasic Ice Class, with 450mm framingin the first two-thirds of the ship and610mm for the rest.In addition, although she waslaunched by Richards Shipbuilders inLowestoft in 1988, her technical specsincluded variable pitch propellers,Becker rudders and steering, BrownBrothers (Rolls-Royce) passive/activestabiliser flaps, 600kW shaft generators(actually gear alternators runningoff the main engine gear boxes viadrive coupling reductors, one forthe propeller shaft and one for thealternator), a 370kW bow thruster andeven roll-damping tanks.All these features happily coincidedwith the owner’s plans for long-rangecruising to remote locations. TheBecker rudders, for instance, have anarticulated flap on their outer edgethat deflects automatically in the samedirection as the rudder. This increasesthe helm angle, and the rudder-to-flapratio can be as high as 2:1 for improvedmanoeuvrability. The power set-upprovided redundancy and meantthe vessel could draw on four energysources: main engines, shaft generators,standard gensets and a dedicatedbattery bank (delivered complete withspare lead plates and acid solution).The roll damping is effectively a lowmaintenancegyro stabiliser and worksby transferring water from two tankseither side of the vessel to counteractrolling. This simple yet effective systemdates back to 1862 when WilliamFroude discovered it could reducerolling motions if the frequency andphase of the oscillating water arecorrectly tuned to the wave periods.“The biggest obstacleon a conversion projectlike this is that the olderthe ship, the more theregulations have changed.This is even morepronounced on a militaryvessel like Norna as whenshe was built they werethinking more about thesafety of the ship than thepeople on board.”However, that’s where thecommonality between a militaryvessel and an explorer superyachtcomes to an abrupt end. The financialsuccess of the Norna project dependedon retaining as much of the majormachinery as possible while workingwith the existing spaces and structuresto introduce the many comfortsand conveniences expected aboarda modern yacht; in other words,everything not required aboard afishery protection vessel.The first task facing StéphaneMarcelli, co-founder of the AtlanticRefit Center (ARC), after Nornaarrived in La Rochelle in 2011 was toassist the owner in finding a suitablecrew for the yacht-to-be. His first pointof contact was chief engineer SteveLoyer, who went to sea aged 17 as acommercial fisherman, a professionthat took him as far afield asSpitsbergen in the north and FrenchNorth Sea NornaNorna was one of two sister ships that became available for conversion after beingdecommissioned and replaced by the larger Jura class of offshore patrol vessels from2006. Designed for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) as a result of theRoyal Navy’s experiences during the Cod War with Iceland in the 1970s, the first tocome on the market was M/V Sulisker and Brooke Marine in Lowestoft (after a 14-yearabsence from yacht building) began her conversion for a private client into a SOLAScertifiedsuperyacht. The project foundered in 2010 and the current status of the vesselis unknown.When Norna came on to the market in 2010 the first client to show interest wasthe Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), a non-profit marine wildlife protectionorganisation that has a skull above a crossed trident and shepherd’s staff as its logo.Established in 1977, the SSCS operate several vessels around the world, including 59mSSS Steve Irwin, another SFPA patrol boat built in 1975.By curious coincidence, chief engineer Steve Loyer recalls being intercepted by Nornaon a routine inspection when the patrol vessel was still in active service. “We werefishing between Spitsbergen and Scotland in a six- to seven-metre swell when I sawan echo on the radar and Norna came out of the fog doing 18 knots,” he recounts.“When I next saw her in the dry dock in La Rochelle, I knew the owner had found avery seaworthy hull.”Captain David Beveridge, now retired, was in command of Norna from 2000-2005.“Norna was a magnificent sea ship for several reasons”, he recounts. “The hull designwas the result of a long process of refinement that had started years before with theold Island Class, which had been based on deep sea trawlers, but the Sulisker Classwas closer to a wartime corvette in size and construction. Norna was the third andlast of that class and her whole structure, with active fins, stability tanks and Beckerrudders, produced a very kindly ship for working in the North Sea and the Atlantic.”Heavy weather is the norm off the north-west coast of Scotland and Captain Beveridgedescribes living and working in such conditions as almost a state of mind: “In order tomake life bearable you needed a well-found ship like Norna under your feet.”After spending 41 years at sea, Captain Beveridge has written a collection of memoirsentitled Water Under the Keel (paperback ISBN: 9781780355672), which includes asection about his time aboard Norna.30 THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 143 THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 143 31
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