Knutsen shuttle tanker operators are installing Kongsberg Maritime’s integrated bridge, automation and dynamic positioning (DP) systems on their new shuttle tankers under construction in China.
Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers and Knutsen OAS Shipping already use these systems on their existing shuttle tankers, which operate in the North Sea, offshore Brazil and off the east coast of Canada. These tankers are loaded with crude from offshore oilfields and transport these cargoes to onshore terminals. They need DP systems, with redundancy in positioning, power, controls and thrusters, during offshore loading operations.
Trygve Seglem, managing director of Knutsen OAS Shipping, says Kongsberg systems will go on five new shuttle tankers on order. The newbuilding programme includes a Suezmax tanker going to Brazil; another Suezmax tanker that has a five-year charter with Statoil; and Aframax tankers built for shuttling crude cargoes from the Goliat oilfield in the Barents Sea to Norwegian oil terminals. He expects there will be more demand in the Barents Sea for ice-class shuttle tankers, as Statoil has discovered new oilfields.
Toshi Nakamura, executive vice-president of Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers, says the shuttle tankers it has on order will have Kongsberg integrated bridge systems, automation and DP2 installed. They also have Knutsen’s patented volatile organic compound capture and recycling systems, KVOC, installed. “DP2 and VOC capture technology are requirements for shuttle tankers in all markets and not just the North Sea,” Mr Nakamura says. He expects more markets will open for shuttle tankers such as Australia and South East Asia if rules concerning offshore loadings from oil production ships are tightened.
Vettings and inspections made easier with online databases and e-documents
Online databases and documentation services such as Heidenreich Innovations’ Q88 and those run by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) enhance the chartering, vetting and inspection processes. The more data that can be stored online, the easier it is for charterers and owners of tankers to complete their business.
Q88 is a questionnaire that tanker owners can use to provide information quickly to oil companies when working on charterparties. The service has grown to include more than 7,000 vessels and has more than 400 regular users, says Heidenreich Innovations’ vice president, Soren Ibsen.
He adds, “Q88 means owners and technical managers can use standard Intertanko questionnaires, which reduces the time of filling in charterer’s questionnaires from two hours to just a few minutes. It also allows third parties to download tanker information. Shipowners now say they cannot live without it. Oil companies require owners to fill out this information on their websites. We have been integrating Q88 with them so owners can submit the Q88 information to the website. We have integrated with most of the main charterers but we are still to integrate with Galp and Cepsa’s [tanker charterer] websites.”
OCIMF has online questionnaires and standard electronic reports that help in tanker inspections and vetting by charterers under the Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE). Under this programme the organisation has introduced new versions of the Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (VIQ) and Vessels Particulars Questionnaire (VPQ). These are unique tanker risk assessment tools for charterers, tanker operators, terminal operators and government bodies concerned with ship safety.
One of the biggest VIQ revisions came in January this year and included updates which took into account changes made to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, says Rob Collier, compliance manager at OCIMF. “The latest version is VIQ5. It includes a new question on whether bunker pipelines are tested annually and there are also changes in the questions about LNG.”
There will be more changes coming to VIQ later this year. “We are reviewing the whole of Chapter 13 of the questionnaire, covering ice operations. We expect a new Chapter 13 will be released in the second quarter, therefore before the northern hemisphere ice season. Discussions at the SIRE sub-committee suggest the chapter will be split into operations in ice and sub-zero temperature operations.”
OCIMF is also revising the online VPQ with a new version scheduled to be released in the fourth quarter of this year. The organisation is also introducing a 30-day rule, which will mean oil companies will be able to review online inspection reports. Tanker charterers will therefore not have to inspect a tanker within a 30-day period after a previous inspection by any other OCIMF member. The exceptions will be for newly delivered tankers, where owners may want to quickly build up inspection history, and where a tanker’s management changes, Mr Collier says. Inspection reports are maintained on the database for two years from the date of receipt.MEC
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