Page 36: of Marine News Magazine (July 2016)

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PROPULSION: TEST DRIVE

Boat in Focus: Njord Offshore and the Volvo Penta IPS900 Quad

Njord Offshore’s new crew transfer vessels are equipped with Volvo Penta’s IPS900 Quad drives.

As it pushes further faster in to the commercial marine business, Stefan Carlsson, Volvo Penta’s Marine Diesel segment head was quick to identify Offshore Wind Farm vessels as an area of particular growth, headlined by Njord Offshore’s two new 26m, 24 pas- senger offshore crew vessels that are equipped with Volvo Penta’s IPS900 Quad drives, for operation in the North Sea. After a year operating four new 26m crew transfer vessels (CTVs) ? tted with Volvo Penta’s IPS900 Quad drives, Njord has added another two new boats with the same propulsion system to its ? eet. In total, the UK company now has 15 CTVs of 21m and 26m in its ? eet.

“We’ve been using Volvo Penta’s IPS900 Quad system in our 26-meter CTVs for over a year now and all expectations have been ful? lled,” said Tom Mehew, director at Njord Offshore. “We, and our customers, require speed, maneuverability and ef? ciency combined with high static bollard push. The joystick controls are intuitive, the control response times are fast and accurate which ultimately makes docking on a boat landing in rough weather easier and safer.” The 26m CTV’s were designed by BMT Nigel Gee and built by Singapore-based Strategic Marine. They have two Volvo Penta IPS900 drives in each hull. The precision handling and maneuverability provided by the system’s joystick steering, high thrust propulsion and Dynamic Positioning System, help to ensure that a vessel can be held in a steady position against wind turbines, even in conditions of strong currents and high waves. With four IPS drive systems, the catamarans can operate at high speeds even when fully loaded, reaching 27-29 knots.

Integrated Solutions

Central to Volvo Penta’s commercial marine market

The New D8 push is the offer of a comprehensive, integrated solution.

While the engines and IPS are central components, the entire package includes a family of intuitive and integrated controls, encompassing a joystick option, docking mode and dynamic positioning; it includes Humphree trim and stabilization products, as Volvo Penta recently took a ma- jority stake (80%) in the iconic company; and it include the ‘glass cockpit’ solution, which ties together critical op- erational information in one neat, customizable package.

Installation of the IPS with 8-liter engines can be made for twin and triple con? gurations.

For triple installations, one pod can also be disengaged and the engine can be used in PTO mode – for example, in powering a water canon on ? re rescue boats – while still keeping maneuverability on the other two.

The new package has three power settings: D8 IPS600;

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