Page 12: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2014)

Deck Machinery MacArtney was chosen to supply a major consignment of high performance oceanographic winches to JAMSTEC, the Japanese Agency of Marine-Earth-Science and Technology. The total of eight winch systems and appurtenant equipment were delivered to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries who, in co- operation with MacArtney launch and recovery technicians, installed them onboard the new JAMSTEC research vessel R/V Shinsei Maru. R/V Shinsei Maru was completed and delivered to JAMSTEC in June 2013, the latest addition to the JAMSTEC ß eet. To effectively carry out its broad range of oceanographic surveying, R/V Shinsei Maru is equipped with a wide variety of onboard observation systems, portable research equipment and a remote controlled unmanned probe. For launching and recovering this multitude of surveying sys- tems and equipment, it is outÞ tted with a MacArtney winch solution. Comprising eight winch systems (four stationary and four portable), the MacArtney winch solution includes Gen- eral Survey Winch, Large Wire Winch; Medium Wire Winch; Small Wire Winch; CTD Winch Six of the MacArtney winches onboard R/V Shinsei Maru are empowered by Active Heavy Compensation (AHC), which is designed to dramatically reduce unwanted undulation, cable slack, pull and equipment instability by compensating for the motion caused by heavy seas, in effect helping to dramatically decrease weather related downtime. MacGregors received an order for two MacGregor active heave-compensated (AHC) offshore cranes from a Turkish shipyard for a new subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) and construction vessel for a Norwegian owner. A 250- ton and a 15-ton MacGregor subsea crane will be installed on the 129m vessel. The 250-ton unit will have its winch in- stalled below the working deck and will also feature wire rope integrity software. The order was booked in the third quarter 2013 order intake. ÒThe MacGregor equipment shares this focus and will be delivered with the added beneÞ t of wire rope integrity soft- ware, which enhances operational safety and allows an opera- tor to monitor a wireÕs wear status and therefore plan for its replacement and even extend its lifespan,Ó said Frode Grovan, Director, Sales and Marketing for Advanced Load Handling. The cranes will enable subsea operations to depths of between 2,600m and 3,000m and both will be Þ tted with a MacGregor Arctic package for safe and efÞ cient operations in cold cli- mates. The Skipsteknisk ST-259-design vessel is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2015. Vestdavit & the Norway Way New regulations for davits used in the Norwegian offshore industry will not come into force until 2015, but in the mean- time, they are already raising the safety bar, and in fact Vest- davit already has a NORSOK-compliant davit. NORSOK standards are developed by the Norwegian petroleum industry to ensure adequate safety, add value and with an eye towards cost effectiveness for petroleum industry developments and operations. Beyond this, NORSOK standards are as far as possible intended to replace oil company speciÞ cations and serve as references in the regulatory process. According to Vestdavit, NORSOK regulations apply to da- vits and lifting appliances used on offshore installations and specify many new design features and safety systems must be employed. For its part, Vestdavit has invested heavily to en- sure that its davits comply with NORSOK standards. Today, it boasts a 6 ton NORSOK-compliant davit and claims that orders from major offshore operators are coming, in response. A Korean shipyard building a unit for the Norwegian sector of the North Sea for a major operator is the latest to contract a 6 ton SWL NORSOK R002 davit from Vestdavit. The PLR-6000 pivoting A-frame davit includes all manda- tory safety features. The HPU, valves, control systems, elec- tronics cabinets and back up accumulators are all mounted on a separate skid. The system will be fully FAT tested with DNV veriÞ cation prior to delivery. This greatly simplify yard instal- lation, saving time and cost, says Wigand. Global integrated geoscience company CGG is leading a joint industry project to improve workboat launch and recov- ery safety. Vestdavit is the key equipment supplier in the proj- ect which also involves DNV and Wilhelmsen as vessel man- ager. CGG operates a large global ß eet of seismic vessels, all tJanuary/February 2014 12 MTRMTR #1 (1-17).indd 12MTR #1 (1-17).indd 121/24/2014 12:36:59 PM1/24/2014 12:36:59 PM