Offshore Ship Designers Call for Greener Designs

Offshore vessel designer, Offshore Ship Designers (OSD), says going green is no longer just an expensive option, and it is no longer just about containing noxious emissions and oil spills. A global focus on carbon dioxide emission reduction means that going green is both a challenge and a business opportunity for offshore service vessel (OSV) operators. Writing in its regular newsletter Design Waves, Neil Patterson, managing director of IMT Marine Consultants, part of OSD, says, “The public wants cuts in greenhouse gases, and has zero tolerance for marine pollution. Expect to see oil companies responding by going green across the board. There are already signs that oil companies will give preference to chartering ships which produce fewer carbon emissions. Soon that will become a requirement. There are currently about 500 OSVs building around the world. Only about 120 of those are to green designs, which creates an opportunity for those yet to order. Go green, and get to the head of the charter queue.”

Patterson goes on to explain that the big green factor is to get a grip on operational fuel consumption. “Diesel-electric propulsion offers the most environmentally effective solution,” he says. “Power at any time can be matched to demand, and only those generator sets needed are run, and these are run at an efficient load. Experience in practice with similar-shape ships using conventional mechanical power with CPPs compared with diesel electric plant has shown around 40 per cent reduction in fuel usage for similar service. That’s a lot less carbon and other pollutants going into the air.”

Also in Design Waves, read about new orders for IMT 955 modified field support vessels plus pictures of new deliveries and information on the soon-to-be-delivered Sapura 3000 pipelayer and the new vessel developed from it.