Page 13: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2006)

14 MTR March 2006 vessels

MAN B&W Diesel A/S, Denmark, won a contract for the supply of four gensets for a diesel-electric Natural Gas Hydrate

Integrated Research Vessel newbuilding in

China. The vessel, which will be built by

Wuchang Shipyard, Wuhan, is to be powered by three MAN B&W Diesel main Holeby gensets — type 6L27/38 — together with harbor/auxiliary gensets type 9L16/24.

Upon the shipyard's completion and com- missioning in 2007 the research vessel will be taken over by the owner and operator, the

Chinese organization, GuangZhou Marine

Geological Survey.

The newbuilding is designed by the

MARIC Design Institute, Shanghai, and is optimized for comprehensive marine survey and natural gas research operations.

The twin screw diesel-electric propulsion and drive system is based on a low voltage

Siemens package powering a pair of Schottel thruster propellers.

GuangZhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS), under the China Geology Survey, is a multi-discipline and multi-functional marine geological investigation organization.

It mainly carries out the basic, strategic and public marine geological investigation in

China. GMGS owns three geophysical inves- tigation vessels, one drilling vessel, and two fuel ships which are equipped with advanced instruments such as a DGPS, 2D/3D seismic recording system, sub bottom profiling sys- tem, gravitometer, magnetic gradiometer, depth-sounder, multi-frequency probing sys- tem, side-scan sonar system, CTD instru- ment, sea bottom camera sediment corers, multi-beam system and so on. GMGS can conduct the sea floor topography, geomor- phology and hydrocarbon resource investiga- tion and marine geological engineering in deep sea and shallow water with these vessels and instruments.

Visit www.maritimeequipment.com/mt & Click No. 53

Diesel-Electric Power for Natural Gas Research Vessel

VT Halter to Build Fourth NOAA Vessel

VT Halter Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies

Systems, Inc., will build another fisheries survey vessel (FSV) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA). NOAA exercised an option for about $30 million to build the fourth planned vessel under an existing contract. Construction will begin in 2006 with delivery planned during the second half of 2008.

VT Halter Marine designed the 208-ft. FSVs in accordance with guidelines for acoustic quieting set by the

International Council for Exploration of the Seas. The first ship in the class-Oscar Dyson- was delivered on Jan. 5, 2005, and is one of the most technologically advanced fisheries ships in the world. The second ship-Henry B. Bigelow-was launched on July 8, 2005, and is expected to be delivered to NOAA in mid-2006. Construction began on the third ship in the class, FSV 3, in July 2005; this ship, yet to be named, is expected to be delivered in late 2007. It will initially be home ported in Pascagoula, Miss.

These NOAA sister ships, with cutting-edge low acoustic signatures, will have the ability to perform hydro-acoustic surveys of fish. They will also be able to conduct bottom and mid- water trawls while running physical and biological oceanographic sampling during a single deployment; a combined capability unavailable in the private sector.

Main Particulars

Ship type . . . . .Natural Gas Hydrate Integrate Research Vessel

Ship designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MARIC

Length, o.a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 m

Length b.p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 m

Breadth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17.4 m

Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.3 m

Design draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.5 m

Est. trial speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 knots

Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15,000 nm - unrestricted service

Main GenSets . . . . . . . . .3 x MAN B&W Diesel type 6L27/38

Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 x 1980 kW

Aux/harbor GenSet . . . . .1 x MAN B&W Diesel type 9L16/24

Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .810 kW

Diesel-electric

Alternators/motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Siemens

Thrusters/propellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Schottel

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