Ulstein adds heavy transport vessel to its design portfolio
To meet the increasing logistic requirements for ever-growing offshore wind components transported across the globe, ULSTEIN has added the HX121 heavy transport vessel to its design portfolio. The design features an ULSTEIN X-BOW® to improve seakeeping, maximized deck space and optimized aft ship for low fuel consumption, resulting in an effective and balanced design relying on proven technologies, which optionally can furnish DP2.
The current fleet of heavy transport vessels doesn’t meet the future demand of the offshore wind segment. Over 380 GW of offshore wind capacity, across 32 markets, is predicted to be added in the next ten years. Besides a substantial fleet of installation vessels, also new tonnage is needed to transport the foundations and wind turbines from worldwide fabrication locations to marshalling ports or offshore fields.
Fulfilling the requirements for the next generation project cargo
Traditionally, the offshore wind sector has made use of barges or semi-submersible heavy lift vessels for the transportation of wind turbine components however the market is looking for more efficient and low emission vessels to transport large components. The ULSTEIN HX121 has been developed in close contact with industry partners to find the key requirements for this next generation of heavy transport vessels,
says Edwin van Leeuwen, Managing Director at Ulstein Design & Solutions BV.
Introducing the HX121 design
Dolf Manschot, Project Manager at Ulstein Design & Solutions BV states:
The HX121 design is the latest and largest design in ULSTEIN’s portfolio of heavy transport vessel. The Ulstein Blended Design method was used to find the optimal main dimensions and service speed for efficiently transporting large wind components. This design method enabled us to minimize the fuel consumption per transported component. Furthermore, we focused on load and unload cargo making use of roll on roll off technology.
Methanol Powered
To fulfill the market demand for low emission vessels, the ULSTEIN HX121 is designed to also operate on methanol fuel. Powering the vessel with Green methanol would dramatically reduce the carbon footprint, while E-methanol could even reduce the carbon footprint to zero. As a marine fuel methanol has many advantages, it is the safest alternative fuel, easy to store and relatively inexpensive to produce.
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