Page 52: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1999)

10 Significant Marine Innovations

FDS: A unique answer to the deepwater projects needs

A thorough zygAis of the offshore projects h^^^^H lent in West Africa showed the evolu-

BM| >nal water depths to "water^^^H 'gues Offshore and

Saipem, tlfpHHaieir common sub- sidiary S/^H 50/50) decided to invest in a signed for this new challenge. ^^Hi as the agreement between Offshore and

Saipem waMMn and the cost deter- mined, $150 million each, the engineer- ing subcontract was placed with SHIF-

FKO Gmbh. The project schedule began with the basic engineering in 1997; the engineering subcontract was placed in March 1998. All the main equipment orders were issued at the end of 1998, including the shipyard order in

December 1998. The vessel will be available in September 2000.

The FDS is a multipurpose crane and pipelaying DP construction vessel; the three main criteria, which have driven the development of this project, are as follows: • Capability to develop offshore oil and gas fields in depths to 3,000 msw. • Capability to lift and transport on deck heavy subsea and surface mod- ules and equipment. • Capability to transit between the construction sites at a cruising speed of 14 knots.

The ship is being built according to codes SOLAS / ILO / MARPOL with a

DNV classification +1A1 ( EO - DYN-

POS - AUTRO - DSVII / III SF - HLDK

SH - ICE C) and is compliant with Nor- wegian, U.K. and USCG for foreign flag vessel regulations.

The FDS has been designed for partic- ular sea conditions in the South Atlantic.

The tests carried out are very promising and confirmed the good behavior of the vessel. The natural period of the ship is 15 seconds in pipelaying mode, which is above the swell period encountered in the areas where the vessel will be most- ly working. The J-lay operation roll has single maximum amplitude of five degree and the main crane operation angle is two degree. All the operations and characteristics are possible thanks to the following systems ensuring the sta- bility: • Anti-rolling with two span Bilge keels of 1.24 m. • Ballast system installed with two 300 CM/hr. electric pumps. • Crane compensation by utilization of eight 1,500 CM/hr. Electric pumps.

The total sea water ballast capacity is 11,539 CM including the 2 x 1,276 CM (on each side) for the crane ballast itself.

The vessel is 516.7 ft. (157.5 m) long and 98.4 ft. (30 m) wide and has an

Main Equipment Suppliers

Shipyard Samsung

Dynamic Positioning System Kongsberg

Diesel Engines Wartsila

Thrusters Lips

Main Crane, J-Lay Tower Amclyde

Auxiliary Cranes Liebherr

Winches Imeca

Firing Line Conveyors Remacut operating displace- ment of 25,300 tons and a payload capacity of 4,300 tons. The operating draft is 24.2 ft. (7.4 m) with a depth of 40.7 ft. (12.4 m).

A total installed power of 25 MW pro- duced by diesel driven generators in 6.6

KV is distributed to all user motors in the vessel; in particular to the six thrusters: two stern thrusters for DP and sailing; two fore thrusters azimuth and

THIRTY SEVEN YEARS

OF

LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE

AS

CUSTOM DESIGNERS

AND MANUFACTURERS OF

ELECTRICAL ENERGY

CONTROL, PROTECTION

AND DISTRIBUTION

SWITCHGEAR SYSTEMS

CONTROLS A WORLD OF GENERATORS

MORE KILOWATTS

IN MORE PLACES

ON LAND

FROM THE DESERTS OF SAUDI ARABIA

TO THE JUNGLES OF SOUTH AMERICA

ON SEA

IN EVERY SEA A SHIP CAN SAIL

FROM THE NORTH SEA TO THE

SOUTH PACIFIC 11 KV SWITCHGEAR

GENERATOR CONTROL

AND DISTRIBUTION 480 GENERATOR CONTROL, DISTRIBUTION

AND MOTOR CONTROL SWITCHBOARD

MEDIUM VOLTAGE AVAILABLE TO 34KV

LOW VOLTAGE AVAILABLE TO 600 VOLTS

CON-SELECT, INC. P.O. BOX 8745 MANDEVILLE, LA 70471-8745

PHONE: (504) 892-6446 FAX: (504) 892-6621 [email protected]

Circle 356 on Reader Service Card 54 "The Yearbook" Maritime Reporter/Engineering News