Our equipment scope of supply continues to grow for these vital vessels, which started with the supply of reliable winches over 40 years ago.
Making these vessels safer for our customers to operate has been one of our key goals, and has seen the rapid development of the Safer Deck systems now available. The recent integration of ODIM enables us to offer a wider range of specialist cranes and liquids transfer systems.
Our solutions can be included in one of our own UT vessel designs or tailored to exact customer or vessel requirements.
The latest Rolls-Royce development for PSVs is moveable deck systems (main image), where two deck sections are mounted at upper rail level and can be moved fore and aft.
This can increase deck area by around 30% and can improve a variety of operations like ROV deployment and personnel transfer, without diminishing main deck cargo capacity.
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Rolls-Royce offer complete automated handling systems for Platform Supply vessels. Click on a product for more information.
Safer deck operations
Making life safer for crews
The innovative Safer Deck solutions are designed to make life safer for the crews of offshore service vessels who have to work on deck during anchor handling operations or when transferring cargo at rigs and platforms. Wires, shackles and chains, which may be under great tension are handled by remote control, minimising manual work on deck.
A new sea fastening system permits containers and pipes on deck to be shifted and secured with less risk to crew.
At the heart of the system is a pair of double-boom cargo rail cranes that run on rails the full length of the working deck bulwarks. The hoisting boom has a winch and is able to move equipment to and from any point on the deck and also reach out over the stern.
When handling chains and wires, the working boom is used. Rolls-Royce has designed special manipulators to act as mechanical 'hands' for the cranes. They work in conjunction with towing pins, shark jaws and centring devices. All tasks can be carried out by the crew remotely.
A mini simulator can be programmed with realistic work operations and is small enough to be placed on board, for crew training to improve competence levels and thereby safety levels.
The following animations show how the Safer Deck Operations system works:
Anchor-handling frames
A safer way to handle anchors
As the industry moves towards deeper waters, the mooring lines also become heavier. The AHF™ will be essential in order to maintain safety in future operations.
Safer work environment for crew
The AHFTM reduces the handling forces during rig anchor deployment and retrieval operations - and human exposure to those forces. The AHFTM also ensures steadier handling of the anchor, protecting both crew and vessel.
Safer handling of anchors
Less tension in wires reduces wear and tear on the mooring system. The chance of accidentally loosing the anchor - and damaging subsea installations - is sharply reduced.
More efficient operation
The AHFTM makes it easy to deck the anchor with correct orientation and without repeated efforts or assistance from other vessels.
Integrated crane solutions
Offshore cranes
Our offshore cranes are designed for the unique challenges of offshore operations. They provide optimal balance between lifting heavy weights and energy efficiency.
Lifting range: 400 TM – 2,000 TM
- FPSO
- Platforms and rigs
- Subsea vessels
Cargo rail cranes
The cargo rail crane is designed to achieve safer operations and more efficient logistics on deck. Its flexible and robust construction allows the operators to work continuously through rough weather conditions, offering a large operating radius at full load capacity along the railway. Additional tugger winch and handling tools for both fibre rope and pipe handling, makes it ideal for a large variety of offshore deck operations.
Lifting range: Up to 150 TM
- Multi purpose vessels
- Construction vessels
- Light well intervention vessels
Liquids handling/transfer systems
The ODIM ABCS™ allows for bunkering up to eleven different media, such as fresh water or diesel. Sensors ensure that the appropriate hose is connected to the corresponding station module.
Ensuring crew safety
The ODIM ABCSTM replaces manual hose handling on the supply vessel. The system does not expose people to risky hose handling operations. Instead, it is operated safely from the bridge via our control system.
Enhancing efficiency
Due to increased safety for personnel, offshore supply vessels can now serve offshore installations in far tougher weather. This will increase the number of operational days. Quick release enables the operators to shut off the system safely on short notice. Increased vessel uptime boosts profitability.
Strengthening environmental performance
In case of emergencies, the quick release functionality detaches the hoses from the supply vessel. At the same time, a safety valve closes the coupling automatically, preventing liquid from pouring into the sea. Thus, there is no longer a risk of spills.
Anchor and mooring winches
The modular concept
Select from all-electric, high-pressure or low-pressure hydraulic drive options to match your requirements. Each winch is built of modules that include the drum, shafting with accessories, brake, bearing bracket, warping end, gear and drive.
Options include remote control for brakes and clutches and an auto-tensioning system that automatically keeps the tension in the mooring line within pre-set limits automatically. Windlasses are made up of a cable lifter unit, a pinion shaft and the clutch and brake module - the drum size and the main shaft line are open design parameters and can be specified. Mooring winches can be supplied with pulling capacities from 5 to 40 tonnes and anchor windlasses for up to 137mm chain.
Low-pressure hydraulic systems are often the preferred choice for LNG carriers and large VLCC's where safety is a vital consideration. Systems are capable of delivering high-speed dynamic lowering of the anchor, up to 40m/min.
Low-pressure systems have now been installed on more than 100 LNG vessels, which is approximately 40 per cent of the total market share worldwide.
High-pressure hydraulic systems are a popular choice for oil product and chemical tankers. They can be directly integrated with the vessel’s central hydraulic system that is used to drive the cargo pumps, so there is no need for a dedicated power pack.
Frequency controlled winches are now the natural choice for cruise ships where speed, step-less control and quiet operation are important.
Winch drive options for anchoring & mooring winches
Low-pressure hydraulic
The low-pressure hydraulic is originally designed for heavy winch operations in marine environments. Through more than 70 years of experience the feedback from our end users have been that low-pressure hydraulic winches are exposed to minimal risk for off hire, caused by total breakdown.
The system has the market’s highest focus on safety and lifecycle cost. It is robust, reliable and easy to install. The winch motor and power pack operates at very low noise as part of a constant flow system at max 64bar, with variable pressure depending on the flow requirements of the winch.
The vane type winch motor provides step-less speed control and automatic speed selection with full starting torque. Its three-chamber design allows an increase line speeds in light line situations by up to three times with full hydraulic control. All parts are based on in-house technology.
Increasing the functionality of supply vessels
A multifunctional sliding deck arrangement, newly developed by Rolls-Royce, is the key feature in increasing the efficiency of PSV operations and improving the safety of those working on deck.
It extends the functionality in normal PSV operations, and greatly improves the performance of PSVs that also have to perform operations in other fields, in particular subsea, standby/rescue, maintenance and repair.
At the heart of the system are two movable deck sections, at cargo rail height. These can be moved fore and aft and locked in any desired position. Each has a load capacity of about 300 tonnes. They do not affect the load pattern on the main deck, as there is plenty of clearance under the moving sections for general cargoes such as containers, pipes and baskets.
One benefit is an increase in deck area of about 30 per cent for volume-intensive cargoes, but the main advantage of these deck sections is that they allow other operations to be carried out more effectively. They can be moved fore and aft to suit a specific operation.
The SDO cranes, introduced earlier by Rolls-Royce, move along the cargo rails to work in combination with the movable deck system, giving extreme flexibility in handling supplies and equipment for different tasks.
In terms of cargo handling there is a dedicated loading and unloading area for rig cranes and improved sight lines to this area from the crane cabin. It is also possible to position fragile cargo where motions are at their least to reduce the likelihood of damage during rig crane handling.
Return cargo can be dropped onto both the main deck and the movable decks without too much regard to exact stowage, the final positioning being carried out at leisure using the PSV’s own gear. These decks also optimise the vessel for several other types of work – winch operations, MOB deployment, oil recovery, and helideck.
What to do next...
The booming business in the offshore sector has created a high demand for crew expertise. We have strengthened our service and training programme, in order to transfer knowledge to users within our customer's organisations.
Our service team has extensive experience and can solve problems or make improvements and repairs on-site, often within 24hrs.
We offer tailored service agreements and training programmes:
- Equipment service and maintenance
- Crew training
- Spare parts
- Upgrading
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