How to navigate demand for anchor handlers in offshore oil and renewables

Newbuild AHTS ships will be required for both markets, with different designs of vessels for the growth markets.

Mr Måløy introduced a new design for a mooring handling and construction vessel (MHCV) that could work as an AHTS in the oil and gas industry and be an efficient service provider in the growing floating wind market.

Oceanic and Sirius worked together on the design of two MHCVs with 310 tonnes of bollard pull and different main and A deck areas for storing mooring and anchor equipment.

“Vessels need high capacity for operational efficiency,” said Mr Måløy. “There will be heavy volumes of mooring equipment and several months for laying mooring lines and hook ups.”

This will put heavy loads on crew that will resemble a production line of repetitive work for installing hundreds of mooring lines and anchors during a campaign.

“We have done a lot of work to improve safety and efficient handling of future mooring solutions, and reduce the workload on the deck to a minimum,” said Mr Måløy.

“There is a lot of flexibility to optimise operations and these vessels are designed to load high volumes of equipment in different combinations.”

Sirius designed a standard MHCV with overall length of 114 m, beam of 30 m and depth to main deck of 11 m. It has 1,125 m² of space on the main deck and 270 m² in the equipment room below deck.

The XL version has overall length of 134 m, beam of 30 m and depth to main deck of 11 m, with 1,575 m² of space on the main deck, 865 m² on the A deck and 360 m² in the equipment room below deck. Both have a bollard pull in mechanical mode of 310 tonnes, but Mr Måløy expects achievable bollard pull to be more than 400 tonnes.

On both, there would be direct deployment and recovery from all drums over a stern roller. “There will be high versatility, with the ability to work within different market segments,” said Mr Måløy.

They were designed with floating wind installation work primarily in mind, but are also adapted to support rig moves and moorings, subsea construction and mooring floating production systems.

With these MHCVs, “operators can take mooring logistics to the next level,” said Mr Måløy. “The next generation will facilitate drilling optimisation, reducing rig time and improving rig moves. But in the next 10-20 years, floating wind will change vessel requirements.”

Webinar poll results

Attendees were asked to vote on a series of poll questions during the webinar. Here is a summary of the results.

To what extent are end-clients willing to tolerate lower-specification AHTS vessels in a market that looks like it will be tight for some time to come?

Strongly willing: 4%

Somewhat willing: 51%

Slightly willing: 34%

Not willing at all: 10%

Do you believe the offshore industries of oil and gas and floating wind will use the same categories of AHTS vessels for commissioning, operation and maintenance duties in the 2030s or will these industries develop unique categories of AHTS vessels?

Same fleet with tier-based categorisation: 44%

Separate and distinct fleet for each industry: 46%

Uncertain/don’t know: 10%

Given the trend of increasingly larger wind turbine sizes, do you anticipate...

Vessel capacities will continue to grow as long as turbine sizes do: 36%

The market will adopt more efficient solutions: 46%

A turbine size standard will be established with market maturity: 18%

Given new fuels may not be readily available in the areas where next-generation AHTS vessels will operate, how critical is it for operators to invest in alternative fuels?

Absolutely crucial: 14%

Very important: 51%

Somewhat important: 26%

Not very important: 6%

Not at all important: 3%

To what extent do you believe vessels should be designated exclusively for installing mooring systems for the floating wind industry, as opposed to being adaptable to other market segments?

Vessels should be exclusively designed for installing mooring systems for the floating wind industry: 0%

Vessels should mainly be used for installing mooring systems for the floating wind industry, but should have some capability to work in other markets: 32%

Vessels should have a balanced approach between installing mooring systems for the floating wind industry and working in other markets: 60%

Vessels should primarily be used in other market segments, but they should be adaptable to install mooring systems for the floating wind industry: 8%

How concerned are you about the workload on deck during prolonged periods of prelaying mooring spreads?

Extremely concerned: 5%

Very concerned: 23%

Moderately concerned: 45%

Slightly concerned: 22%

Not concerned at all: 5%

Which of the following solutions do you believe offers the most promise in terms of reducing the workload and enhancing safety for deck crew when prelaying mooring spreads over extended periods?

Implementation of automation technology: 4%

Upgrading mooring system designs: 7%

Improving vessel design to minimise workload and increase safety: 37%

More extensive crew training: 11%

Reducing the duration of prelay mooring spread operations through better planning and logistics: 41%

Source: Riviera Maritime Media

On Riviera’s Navigating demand for anchor handlers: challenges and opportunities webinar panel were (left to right) Fearnley Offshore Supply market analyst Jesper Skjong and Oceanic marine advisor and master mariner Pål Måløy