regulation
OSVs are more regulated than any other vessels
The versatility of offshore support vessels means that they probably fall under more regulatory schemes than any other vessel type
O
ffshore supply vessels are the only vessel type that has to comply with every Marpol Annex, Lloyd’s
Register’s lead specialist and technical leader Jonathan Morley told delegates attending the environmental legislation and technical development session at this year’s Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference. “One of the main issues is we sit astride two industries – maritime and oil and gas – so we are being regulated from two sides and often have to contend with at least two sets of regulations and two regulators,” said the International Marine Contractors Association’s technical adviser, Emily Comyn. Not only are there the regulations that speak directly to OSV operations, but there are also those that flow from related industries. A case in point according to Ms Comyn is a new ruling likely to be in place by the end of this year governing drilling safety requirements that she says will have a lot of knock-on effects down the supply chain for OSV operators.
“On the one hand we may see a more harmonised approach based on the North Sea model and UK safety codes regime. But there are a lot of unanswered questions about how that is going to be resourced, especially if there is going to be greater centralisation of EU powers and oversight of offshore drilling. There is also a question about what actually will be covered by the drilling safety regulations.”
On offshore wind vessel standards Ms Comyn reported that industry is seeing a lot of new class notations and standards coming out but no standard approach. “That leads to lots of questions about consistency and whether governments will recognise each other’s standards,” she said.
There are discussions at the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) concerning a harmonised approach to vessel standards for the windfarm sector, because a lot of the existing rules for OSVs specifically references vessels involved in supporting drilling activities. “This is another example situation where current legislation is playing catch up with what is happening in the real world,” said Ms Comyn. There is also an ongoing debate on whether the sector should have separate vessel standards for windfarm vessels or more generic rules. “Our view is that we don’t want a situation where vessels can only work in the windfarm
Jonathan Morley: OSVs need to comply with every Marpol Annex
sector if they are dedicated windfarm vessels and vice versa,” Ms Comyn explained. “Perhaps IMO should be producing some general guidance to governments on how to apply existing rules? Or there should be a broader discussion about the classification of offshore vessels generally as well as the definition of some of the personnel working onboard vessels.
“That said we always think one has to be careful what one wishes for... a broader discussion about the classification of offshore vessels could lead to political machinations.” OSJ
A hybrid approach is a complete alternative
Arnstein Eknes, segment director for offshore support vessels and special ships at classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV), told delegates that hybrid technology will improve a vessel’s overall energy efficiency and reliability. There are three main reasons for considering the implementation of a true hybrid system on a ship, Mr Eknes told a packed auditorium: reduction of fuel consumption, reduction of emissions and improvements to the functionality of the ship.
The potential for fuel savings will be dependent on the operating profile of the ship, and the efficiency profile of the engines. It is evident that ship types frequently operating at low power, compared to the power installed, are the ones with the highest potential for fuel savings. The efficiencies of internal combustion engines are dependent on the operating
point of the engine. The engines are normally very inefficient at low power and maximum efficiencies are obtained at engine powers close to maximum power.
Arnstein Eknes (DNV): three main reasons for choosing hybrid machinery
12 I Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference and Awards 2013
Reductions in fuel consumption can also be achieved through running the ship engines more efficiently by implementing the facility for storing energy as, for example, batteries. To harvest energy from engines or waste heat recovery, from shore power or other sources, will also be possible. Simultaneous operation of batteries as storage units or a power source will allow the engines to operate more closely to their optimum performance point, resulting in less emissions and more efficient use of the fuel. As OSVs often operate long hours with large power fluctuations, the addition of batteries may therefore give more flexibility in the selection of the onboard power production system as well.
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