| 2 | 2010 - Schiff & Hafen

OFFSHORE & MARINE TECHNOLOGY | NEW BUILDING
Two offshore support
vessels for E.R. Schiffahrt
ROLLS-ROYCE UT 776 CD |
E.R. Athina and E.R. Georgina
are the two latest offshore vessels
to the Rolls-Royce UT 776
CD design, built by STX Europe
in Brevik, Norway, and tailored
to suit the requirements of their
owner E.R. Schiffahrt.
The UT 776 CD belongs to
the UT 77X Rolls-Royce family
of platform supply vessels,
the fi rst of which to be built
was the UT 776 E Island Champion,
delivered in 2006 from
the Norwegian shipyard Aker
Yards-Brevik. The ‘E’ suffi x denotes
diesel-electric propulsion.
At the time the design
was characterised by the chief
designer as the next generation
of platform supply vessels
from Rolls-Royce. It is designed
and equipped by Roll-Royce to
provide its owner and charterers
with a vessel that is eco-
16 Ship & Offshore | 2010 | N o 2
nomical to operate, extremely
effective at carrying out its
tasks and which provides a safe
environment for its crew. A
clear requirement has been to
make working and living conditions
on board as safe and
comfortable as possible. The
design has been tailored so
that cargo is carried as near the
point of minimum motion as
is feasible, on a working deck
with high and protective bulwarks.
Stabilising tanks above
the main deck provide optimal
roll reduction and also form
a safety buffer between the
working deck and the superstructure,
reducing the risk of
injury or damage from swinging
crane loads. The hullform
is optimised for low resistance
in the required 10-16
knot speed range in all normal
North Sea weather conditions.
A bulb bow is combined with
well vee’d sections aft to provide
hull lines that are not only
easily propelled in any sea condition
but have low motions.
Reduced hull resistance is refl
ected in less use of power and
consequently a lower total fuel
burn which, in turn, cuts the
amount of CO 2 emissions.
Since then the generic design
has been progressively developed,
and the later vessels have
the type number UT776 CD,
indicating that they meet Clean
Design class rules for minimum
emissions to water or air.
The fi rst CD variant was delivered
in 2008. To date fi ve UT
776 supply vessels have been
delivered, with a further three
currently on order. In the case
of E.R. Schiffahrt Rolls-Royce
says it came up with a version
of the UT 776 CD that, among
other things, can stay in port
without running generators
for electrical supply, reducing
noise and emissions. Various
technical solutions were adopted
to provide additional redundancy.
Last but not least, E.R.
Athina is the fi rst UT 776 CD to
implement the latest advance
in navigation techno logy, the
Rolls-Royce Icon DPII dynamic
positioning system.
E.R. Athina, like its sister ship, is
93m long with a beam of 20m
and a cargo deck area of about
1,030m 2 . The deadweight is approximately
4,000 tonnes, of
which about 3,000 tonnes can
be carried on deck. It can carry
pipes, liquid cargo, and dry
bulk. Tanks are provided for
fuel, water ballast, fresh water,
drill water, mud, brine, methanol,
base oil and special products.
The bulk handling system
has a capacity of 300m 3 . Accommodation
is provided for a
total of 25 people, and the ship
has Comfort V(3) class nota-
The E.R. Athina owned by
E.R Schiffahrt
E.R. Athina is the fi rst UT 776
CD to implement the Rolls-
Royce Icon DPII dynamic
positioning system
tion, showing that very low levels
of noise and vibration levels
have been achieved, providing
good living conditions for the
crew. E.R. Athina is equipped
with fi re pumps and monitors
to FiFi1 standard and has oil
spill recovery capability according
to DNV OILREC class.
Rolls-Royce AZP-series thrusters
with their streamlined shape
and pulling propellers have
shown themselves to be well
suited for supply vessel propulsion,
and E.R.Athina is fi tted
with two AZP 120 units each
handling 2,500kW in a diesel
electric system. They have CP
propellers and variable frequency
drive motors, and for
manoeuvring and station-keeping
are assisted by two 883kW
tunnel thrusters and a swing-up
azimuth thruster of the same
power at the bow. Four Bergen
C25:33L6A generator sets provide
a total of 6,960kW at 690V.
One merit of the diesel electric
system is that only the actual
number of engines required to
supply the load need to be running,
and they can be operated
at the most effi cient part of their
load range, saving wear and tear
and reducing emissions.
The second vessel, E.R.
Georgina, is scheduled for delivery
in April 2010.