Page 64: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2012)

Atrue hybrid energy system is currently being developed for installation on board the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady, with plans now for an impressive battery pack for energy storage to soon be installed. When the new system is complete, the design is for the operation of the engine to be more smooth and cost-effective, giving further emission reductions. Viking Lady is truly unique when compared to any other offshore supply ship in the world. Thanks to its Norwegian heritage, which stresses both maritime in- novation and environmental conservation, the three- year-old LNG-fuelled vessel, which is owned by Eidesvik Offshore, was the very first merchant ship to use a fuel cell as part of its propulsion system. The fuel cell, which generates an electric output of 330 kW, was installed in the autumn of 2009 and has successfullyrun for more than 18,500 hours. Based on this alone, the Viking Lady is can rightfully stake its claim as one of the worlds most environmentally friendly ships. Next Step: The Battery Pack The time is now for another first, a move that will ef- fectively reduce emissions even more. Once the Corvus-supplied battery pack is in place, the ship willoperate using a hybrid system similar to that which has been installed in hybrid cars for a number of years. However, the potential emission reductions are higher and the return on investment period is shorter for ships than it is for cars. The Corvus Energy battery back in the Viking Lady will consist of Four packs of 17 AT6500 modules, for a total of 68 modules - or about 1/2 of a MW. ?Maximum bus voltage of 856V. ?Maximum current 1000A. (total: each pack is rated at 250A, we have four in parallel.The pack needs no cooling system due60Maritime Reporter & Engineering News OSV Tech Diesel Electric Drives? Hybrids?Battery Powered? LNG Fueled?The Offshore Service Vessel sector has arguably been one of maritimes more innovative sectors for a decade. Driven by oil majors demand for safety and efficiency, not to mention environmental friendliness, the modern OSV is oneof the most innovative vessel categories in operation today. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News examines some of the more innovative recent entries. First True Hybrid System (Photo courtesy: Eidesvik)