Wärtsilä to supply ship design for new type deep water dive support vessel
Wärtsilä has signed a contract with Shanghai Bestway Marine Engineering Design Co Ltd to design a new type of deep water dive support vessel. The ship is to be built for China state-owned Shanghai Salvage Bureau (SSB), one of the largest professional salvage companies in China. The contract with Wärtsilä was signed in January.
The Wärtsilä design features a unique combination of capabilities, including deep water (6000 metres) salvage operations, deep water pipe laying and construction work, and saturation (SAT) diving operations for 24 divers using two diving bells. SAT diving is a technique that allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness when working at great depths for extended periods of time. All the design features are based on a single platform operating with DP3, the highest class of Dynamic Positioning. When built, this will be the world’s first SAT diving support vessel with Multi-Lay and ultra deep water construction capabilities.
Wärtsilä has proven experience and an impressive track record in designing similar vessels of this type. The contract with SSB covers initial and basic design of the ship, meaning that class and flag authority related drawings for the purpose of finalising the necessary approvals and certifications, will be supplied. Wärtsilä will also provide the basic references for future, more detailed engineering requirements for building the vessel.
Wärtsilä Ship Design has extensive know-how and expertise that is backed by a truly global footprint and more than 40 years of experience. The company’s impressive reference list includes more than 4000 vessels already built, as well as some of the most advanced LNG powered ships. The emphasis with all Wärtsilä ship designs is to achieve innovative, cost effective, and environmentally compliant solutions that are specifically tailored to the intended operating profile of the vessel.
