Great Ship: Great Ships of 2003

Great Ship: White Rose

Builder Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

Owner Husky Oil Operation

Type FPSO

For many years now, contracts for ships and floating units to operate in an offshore environment have been much-prized value-added goals at Samsung. These include not only shuttle but drill ships, floating storage and offloading units (FSOs), with their derivative production types (FPSOs), crane ships, and various types of floating and fixed platforms. Some of the more interesting ships that have been created here have included a trio of deepwater drill ships for Reading & Bates capable of working in water depths down to 3000m, the 312,500 dwt FPSO Bonga for operating off Nigeria, and the Saibos FDS, a pipelayer/crane vessel with a jib capacity of 600tonnes. However, today, one of the most interesting ship-shape designs currently on order at Samsung is a very special FPSO planned to operate in the White Rose field off the eastern coast of Newfoundland, Canada. This is a particularly hazardous and inhospitable area of the world, known both for storms, but more importantly it is also in an iceberg zone. The most recent new production unit to be stationed there was the Terra Nova FPSO, designed by Halliburton Brown & Root, and completed by Daewoo in 1999, and the operator of the new ship, Husky Oil, was seeking a somewhat similar concept, which was based in 'virtual drill-ship' lines using five azimuthing thrusters to maintain position. However, Samsung's design team proposed a different solution altogether, which it claims is more cost-effective. This is extrapolated from a successful shuttle tanker hull conceived by the yard for several Norwegian owners, including Ugland, and employing twin conventional CP propellers, allied to a submerged turret loading arrangement. Lengthy discussions took place with the owner which was prepared to pay extra for good safety features, while the hull itself was model tested at the Oceanic Consulting basin in St John's, Newfoundland.

Including slop tanks of 5800 cu. m., the total storage capacity will be 148,000 cu. m., and the bottoms of these tanks, along with the water ballast tanks and external shell will be protected by sacrificial anodes with a 10-year lifespan. For offloading processed oil to a shuttle tanker over a stern line, three 4,000 cu. m./hr. cargo pumps will be installed.

One of the most important requirements of a floating unit in this part of the world is an ability to move off-station as fast as possible in the event of any iceberg threat. If this becomes necessary, the submerged turret mooring system will be disconnected, together with the associated oil loading lines, and the twin 10,600 bhp (MCR) medium-speed diesel engines (burning diesel oil) will give the ship a service speed of 12 knots (at 90% MCR, including 15% power margin and a design draft of 18 m). For normal ship's services, electrical power will be provided by a pair of 2,250 kW diesel-alternators.

Great Ship: Adebaran Star

Builder Daewoo Shipbuilding

Owner Vela International

Type Aframax Product Carrier

Aldebaran Star is an Aframax product carrier constructed by DSME, Okpo shipyard for Vela International Marine Ltd. under the survey of Lloyd's Register of Shipping. The vessel was designed with three (3) longitudinal bulkheads including one (1) centerline bulkhead and transverse bulkheads to have six (6) pairs of cargo tanks fully coated with pure epoxy, two slop tanks, one retention tank with mopping-up system and wing and double bottom water ballast tanks for water ballast.

The vessel has designed and built to meet the classification notations of : +100A1, "Double Hull Oil Tanker", ESP, ShipRight(SDA, FDA, CM), LI, +LMC, UMS, NAV1, IBS, IGS, *IWS, SPM with the descriptive notes of "PL, SBT, ETA, COW, ShipRight (PCWBT, SERS, SCM)".

The Vessel has a continuous upper deck without forecastle, a raked stem with bulbous bow, a transom stern, a semi-balanced rudder and a fixed pitch propeller directly driven by a B&W5S70MC engine with MCR output of 19,100 PS at 91 rpm.

Design fatigue life of 25 years was applied for the longitudinal stiffener's end corrections to transverse webs/bulkheads in cargo area according to the requirement of LR FDA level II and all main longitudinal material in cargo area were suitably scarfed fore and after to ensure that all loads are transferred effectively.

The vessel is capable of carrying and handing three (3) grades of oil/petroleum product simultaneously with double valve segregation and a high pressure fresh water washing system.

The vessel was equipped with a first aid fire fighting system for high-level safety of the accommodation area.

The latest navigational equipment including an integrated navigation system and ECDIS was installed on board the vessel and also a nautical information display of the integrated navigation system was installed on the bridge wing. The engine room machinery such as generators and pumps was designed to controlled/monitored by the ship's computerized control system including a power management system.

Great Ship: Capricorn Star

Builder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

Owner Vela International

Type VLCC

Capricorn Star is the 317,000 dwt double-hull VLCC built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI) for Vela International Marine Ltd. The ship was delivered on July 25, 2003. The ship has one continuous freeboard deck from stem to stern with sunken deck-type stern deck, transverse bulkheads and four longitudinal bulkheads in way of the cargo space. Capricorn Star is a new type of energy-saving high grade VLCC and is incorporating environmental friendly design adopting double hulled bunker tanks, separate Low sulfur tank, IMO approved incinerator, and none-Ozone depleting refrigerant

Capricorn Star is designed to carry three grades of cargo simultaneously, handled by three steam turbine cargo pumps, each delivering 5,500 cu. m./hr., with one COW pump of 3,000 cu. m./hr. and housed in a pump room at the forward of engine room.

The cargo and ballast control systems of the ship is computerized control and monitoring system. Cargo control and monitoring covers operation of pumps, valves, ullage measurement, inert gas systems with manual control also available. Radar beam type level gauges have been fitted to cargo tanks, with electro pneumatic type level gauges used in the ballast tanks.

The ship has five center cargo oil tanks, five pairs of side cargo oil tanks, one pair of slop tanks and water ballast tanks surrounding cargo oil tanks. Double bottom and double hull construction is carried throughout cargo oil tanks, with longitudinal framing.

Propulsion is supplied by a Hyundai B&W 7S80MC main engine developing an MCR of 34,650 bhp at 79 rpm, enabling the vessel to sail at a service speed of 14.6 knots at design draft at 90% MCR with 15% sea margin. Electric power is supplied by three main diesel generators with an output of 1,500 kW at 900 rpm each, one shaft generator of 1,500kW and one 550 kW emergency generator.

Capricorn Star is, among others, equipped with the highly advanced navigation system (Integrated Navigation System) that supports integrated bridge operations of the ship such as route planning, maneuvering for collision and grounding avoidance and navigation monitoring. The Ship is classed by DNV +1A1, Tanker for Oil ESP, NAUTICUS (Newbuilding), E0, W1-OC, VCS2, LCS(SID), ICM(BTs), PLUS-1, COAT-1.

Great Ship: Hellas Nautilus

Builder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

Owner Consolidated Marine Management

Type LPG/NH3 Carrier

Hellas Nautilus, a 82,000 cu. m. LPG carrier, a fully refrigerated type with a cargo space divided into four independent holds was delivered on the July 3, 2003, to CMM, GREECE by Hyundai shipyard.

The 82,000 cu. m. LPG carrier vessel has an overall length of 225.27 m, width of 36.6 m and depth of 22 m with a design draft of 11.4 m.

The ship is powered by a B&W 6S60MC-C main engine with an MCR output of 18,420 bhp at 105 rpm, enabling her to sail at a service speed of 16.75 knots. Electrical supply is derived from three diesel driven alternators of 1,200 kW, plus an emergency unit of 130 kW. Hellas Nautilus has a cargo space divided into four holds with wing tanks.

And each hold accommodates an independent and self-supporting prismatic cargo tank, designed for low temperature cargo of -48. Cargo tanks are insulated with 120 mm thick polyurethane foam caddied with 0.5mm aluzinc steel sheeting. The LPG carrier is able to carry two cargoes simultaneously, both of which may be refrigerated. Cargoes include anhydrous ammonia, 1,3-butadiene, butane (iso and normal), butylenes, commercial propane, propylene.

The reliquefaction plant can handle two refrigerated cargo grades simultaneously and major equipments such as cargo compressors and motors are located in compressor and motor room on main deck level.

Cargo handling is operated by eight deep well pumps, each with a capacity of 600 cu. m./hr., allowing for a discharge time of approximate 18 hours excluding stripping. Loading is accomplished in about 18 hours based on vapor return to shore.