Page 68: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2, 2010)

MPV to Enter Service in Vietnam

Damen’s new Multi Purpose Vessel, suited for oil spill response, is set to enter service in the next few weeks in

Vietnam after undergoing sea trials. Kitted with two large sweeping arms, this reportedly is the first time an oil spill response vessel of this type has been operated in

Asia. Built by Song Thu shipyard in Danang in Vietnam under a DAMEN license, the MPV 5212 will be de- ployed by Vietnam’s Oil Spill Response Centre for Cen- tral Vietnam. The Vietnamese Authorities are expected to order another two oil spill response vessels and all three will be deployed along the coast of Vietnam.

Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC) provided the en- gineering and material package and the drawings for the

MPV 5212 to allow Song Thu to build the complete ves- sel. Thomas ten Hagen, Assistant Project Manager DTC, says Song Thu wanted a good quality, proven design. “This oil recovery system is proven to be very success- ful and much more effective when compared to other systems.”

The MPV 5212 is actually based on a previous

DAMEN-designed oil spill response vessel, the 80 m

ARCA, which is stationed in the port of Scheveningen and owned by the Dutch Ministry of Transport. Built in 2003, this vessel has already proven its ability to handle oil spills and has worked on several major incidents over the years including the Erika and Prestige disasters.

DAMEN has taken the ARCA concept a step further following input from the crew onboard the ARCA. Ten

Hagen said DAMEN decided to boost the oil spill re- covery capacity of the MPV 5212, recently named SOS-

RCEM (which translates as Safety Oil Spill Response

Center Middle Region). The input from the experiences of the crew was invaluable in the new design because they are the ones with direct experience of spill inci- dents, he adds. Schuurman says the MPV also has a good oil separation system onboard which means that oil and water can be separated very quickly.

The vessel is equipped with the “SeaDarq” radar that detects differences in wave patterns, allowing the ves- sel to identify oil patches day and night. Although the vessel has been designed for a performance speed of 12.8 knots and a Bollard Pull of 45 tons, in recent sea tri- als the MPV 5212 managed 14.1 knots and a 47.5 ton

Bollard Pull.

Arctic-Bound Luxury Vessel

Drawing inspiration from the world of O&G

The Northern Star is a 75m motor yacht built by

Lurssen Shipping in Germany which has received an ex- tensive bridge navigation and maneuvering solution from Kongsberg Maritime. With Kongsberg Maritime's systems onboard and a hull-mounted iron reinforcement for ice-breaking, the Arctic expeditions that the North- ern Star owner has planned, including the re-tracing of

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's route traversing the North-West passage off the coast of Canada, have been made possible. "The owner of the Northern Star has a good understanding of ships, and has been per- sonally involved in the whole decision making process," said Craig Franks, Captain of the Northern Star. "He

NEWS VESSELS

Solar Powered Ship

PlanetSolar is an 85-ton, 31m (101.7 ft.) long and 15m (49.2 ft) wide catamaran, covered by 537 sq. m. of solar panels. The futuristic-looking ship is powered by two 10 kW electric motors. On board it has what is reported to be the world’s largest lithium-ion battery, with a power storage capacity of 2910 Ah and a weight of 11 tons. In total, PlanetSolar can travel 1,000 km without sunlight. PlanetSolar has a top speed of 14 knots (25 km/h) and can house around 40 guests. It produces zero environmental pollution and the ship moves noiselessly. The Knierim

Shipyard together with HDW constructed the ship in Kiel, Germany. PlanetSolar is an initiative of Swiss na- tional Raphaël Domjan, president and skipper of the ship. Jean Verne, the great-grandson of Jules Verne is one of the project’s “godfathers.” This is the first ship to undertake a cruise around the world powered entirely by solar energy. The 50,000 km journey is expected to take 140 days at an average speed of eight knots (15 km/h). The planned route is via the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and home via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. “Energy Consciousness Stops” will be made amongst oth- ers in New York, San Francisco, Darwin, Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Marseilles. Imtech is acting as technology partner on PlanetSolar and is responsible for the project management, engineering, implementation and commissioning of the high-tech energy distribution system, the technology that provides for charging the lithium-ion battery, the alarm and monitoring system and the cable system. In the U.S., Imtech is involved in an ecological sightseeing boat powered by a combination of solar energy and sustainable electrical propulsion. To- gether with Feadship (designer and builder of luxury yachts) and MTU (builder of ships’ engines), Imtech is re- searching the possibilities of constructing “green” luxury megayachts. 68 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

Imtech N.V. is acting as technology partner of PlanetSolar, a solar energy powered ship. In 2011, Plan- etSolar will set sail on a world cruise of approximately 50,000 km to promote solar energy and the use of environmentally-conscious alternative fuel for sailing. Photo courtesy Imtech Marine Group