Page 39: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2013)

32www.marinelink.com 39Last year Bergen?s Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) made a bold claim. The designer and manufacturer of diesel electric and hybrid electric systems for the maritime sector, estab- lished in 2009 and already past NOK 1 billion in sales revenues ($171m), revealed that it had produced the larg- est ever low voltage marine diesel electric system.The 690v 60Hz system was cre-ated for the 125m long, 7,500 dwt OSV Grand Can- yon (pictured), released from Ber- gen Group?s Fosen yard to owner Vol- stad Management in October 2012. NES? landmark system delivers a total of 22,600kVA (18,000kVA was said to be the pre-vious low volt-age record). The ship has two main thrusters, each driven by two 2,500kw elec-tric motors, creating a total effect of 10,000kW (13,600 hp), with six side thrusters of 2,000kW (2,700 hp). NES CEO and President Jan Berg (pic- tured) describes this output as ?huge? for a low voltage unit and said that the Grand Canyon project ? which the Þ rm provided a comprehensive pack-age for, including generators, motors, main switchboard, emergency switch- board and ROV switchboard ? was a deÞ ning moment in the comparative- ly short history of the business. ?We?re very proud of what we?ve achieved so far, and by the fact that we?re the only 100% Norwegian owned player in what is a very competitive mar- ketplace,? he said.Pointing to other innovations with-in the business, Berg highlighted the NES Quadro Drive, ?a next generation pro-pulsion conver- tor.? This ?very compact? unit, he claimed, has weight savings over competing products, requires 50% less installa-tion work and, technically speaking, ?is three years ahead of anything else on the market.? The drive, which Berg also described as ?the icing on the cake? of his company?s portfolio, has now been installed on 14 vessels worldwide.Atlantic Offshore and Ocean ResponseMulti-role Rescue Vessel (MRV) and Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) specialist Atlantic Offshore recently took its active ß eet number to 19 vessels (six newbuilds are also under construction), with the delivery of the Ocean Response (pictured).Built by nearby Bergen shipyards, the vessel is the Þ rst of its kind to use a con Þ guration of varying sized Wärtsilä engines (two of the Wärtsilä 6L32 models and two 6L20 generating sets) to maximize fuel efÞ ciency and reduce emissions. Roy Ware- berg, CEO, Atlantic (pictured) explained, ?The vessel has a sister ship, built back in 1985, called the Ocean Troll (an AHTS). It has the same power output ? 12,000 bhp ? the same bollard pull and is the same size (75m long, 18m wide) as the Ocean Response. However, the emissions are a staggering 90% lower for the new vessel.? Wareberg details that this is achieved predominantly through the engine arrangement, which also delivers huge cost efÞ ciencies, with only around 40% of the fuel (compared to the older vessel) used on like-for-like operations. ?In the Troll, we have four engines of approximately 3,000 bhp. In Ocean Response, we have four engines of varying size linked by a power man-agement system that chooses what engine, or conÞ guration of engines, to call upon dependent on the power that is required.? ?So, at every moment you have only the exact bhp you need - not 3,000 (at least), or 6,000 or 9,000. It?s sensational. As we were the Þ rst to do it with Wärt- silä engines we were a little nervous, but, after just one month in operation (it was delivered in March 2013) it?s performing above all expectations.? Norwegian oil major Statoil is also reported to be happy with the innovative approach to engine, fuel and environmental management. The Þ rm has engaged Ocean Response on a 15-year time-charter agreement.(Image Credit: Bjørn Ottosen, Maritime Photo) NES Powers Up in Competitive Market (Photo: Arne Svenning)MR #5 (34-41).indd 39MR #5 (34-41).indd 395/2/2013 9:44:49 AM5/2/2013 9:44:49 AM