Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading solutions and services provider, has signed a contract with China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL) to supply the designs for a total of six new ships. The two Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) and four Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels will initially provide support operations in the South China Sea and Bohai Bay. The contract was signed in December 2012.
The PSVs are based on Wärtsilä Ship Design's well proven VS 485 PSV MKIII design that offers a highly energy and environmentally efficient vessel solution with an optimised hull design for greater efficiency, with corresponding reduced emission to air. The AHTS vessels are to be constructed according to the Wärtsilä Ship Design VS 4612 AHTS design. The primary function of AHTS vessels is to set anchors for drilling rigs, and tow mobile drilling rigs from one location to another. Since the sea and weather conditions in which these ships work is often extremely challenging, a design that offers reliability and high levels of efficiency and performance is called for.
"We have enjoyed many years of close co-operation with both COSL and its parent company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and they are very familiar with Wärtsilä's broad range of solutions, including our ship designs, propulsion machinery, automation and control systems, and our environmental compliance solutions. Our values are also very much aligned, with both companies emphasising total lifecycle costs, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability," says Riku-Pekka Hägg, Vice President, Wärtsilä Ship Design.
Wärtsilä Ship Design's range of ship designs and design services is backed by its strong global presence. The broad offering includes simple, low cost, proven standard designs, often with a full equipment package, and advanced, customized designs based upon client integrated project development.