Next-generation OSV designs evolving, driven by green tech and AI

Vard, part of Fincantieri Group, has invested heavily in research, new technology and digital solutions, and Vard Group vice president of research and innovation, Håvard Vollset Lien, told OSJ he believes the OSV of the future will develop significantly in the next three to five years.

“Standardised, effective approaches to collection, verification and structuring of operational data from ships, combined with smart systems for evaluating them and displaying trends, will provide decision support to the user, enabling them to operate vessels more efficiently and enhance operational capability,” said Mr Lien. “Different forms of machine learning and large language models will play an increasing role.

“The application of AI will enable faster, better optimisation of ship design itself, including hullforms, systems design, and overall design efficiency, and continued focus on energy efficiency – and an increasing focus on emissions regulations – will lead to new types of propulsion, with thrusters employing digital control systems in a smarter way, along with the adoption of more energy-efficient solutions throughout the vessel.”

Mr Lien and other experts interviewed for this article believe the growing focus on costs and difficulties recruiting specialised crew will continue to drive the development of smaller, unmanned vessels, for specific tasks. But in the near-term, more complex offshore operations will continue to require larger, crewed vessels. On these vessels, however, Mr Lien believes that, increasingly some roles will be taken over by shore-based remote operation centres, enabling leaner crewing than before. Mr Runge agreed: “We’ll see more low-crewed vessels, on which routine tasks can be robotised,” he said. “The aim isn’t necessarily always to replace people, but to adopt new ways of work.” Like Mr Lien, he believes that one of these new ways of working will be for offshore tasks to be controlled from shore, rather than requiring someone on board a vessel. One example where this is already happening is the use of remotely operated vehicles controlled from the shore, rather than from a vessel. Mr Runge and Mr Koster also expect greater use of unmanned surface vessels – in certain roles – but said the biggest challenge is regulation.

This is a view that Mr Kvalsvik and Mr de Jongh at Kongsberg Maritime share. Some vessel types and operations lend themselves to reduced manning and unmanned operation better than others, they said. Some owners, such as Reach Subsea, have already gone down the unmanned vessel route with the Reach Remote unmanned surface vessels (USV) concept for survey, inspection and repair. Unmanned operations might not be appropriate for some other vessels, Mr Kvalsvik suggested, but there is no reason why some specialised operations might not be controlled from shore, such as on a construction support vessel (CSVs), where advances in robotics and in communications systems mean some personnel currently on vessels could be moved ashore. Were this the case, he said, a CSV could have less accommodation, be smaller, and less expensive to build and operate. “Until now, cargo operations on PSVs have remained very manual and manpower-intensive,” said Mr Kvalsvik. As he pointed out, vessel operations in the safety zones around offshore platforms are strictly controlled, making the potential introduction of remote-controlled operations more challenging.

“E-fuels, biofuels and batteries will take some market shares in OSVs,” said Mr Lien, “but for the larger, more complex vessels, we will see nuclear propulsion demonstration projects emerge.” Mr Lien also noted that, as a background to all of the above-mentioned changes, “resilience against cyber threats will become more and more important as ship systems become more and more interconnected, and ships become more connected to cloud and shore.”

Like Mr Lien, Breeze Ship Design chief commercial officer, Tommy Hivand, also believes that the design of future OSVs will increasingly be driven by environmental regulations. “Although IMO frameworks establish the global baseline, regional and local regulations – particularly within the EU – are accelerating the pace of development,” he told OSJ.

“In the next three to five years, designs will continue to be influenced by emissions targets and the transition toward alternative energy sources,” he said. An example is the battery hybrid MPSVs Breeze designed for Capital Offshore.

“There is a clear shift away from traditional ways of thinking when designing new vessels, towards more tailored solutions optimised with a better understanding of the specific operational profiles. In this evolving landscape, a holistic design approach is essential, integrating hullform, propulsion and energy architectures,” said Mr Hivand. “At the same time, digitalisation and autonomy will play a growing role. This includes leveraging operational data for continuous feedback and the development of digital twins,” he said.

Like Mr Lien, Mr Hivand sees AI and machine learning at the heart of the way future OSVs will be designed and operate. “They are expected to play a significant role advancing the ship design process,” said Mr Hivand. “At Breeze, we have already developed a sophisticated parametric hull design optimisation tool, which we see becoming central to modern ship design.”

Mr Koster and Mr Runge at Royal IHC also expect AI and machine learning to play an important role enhancing the operation of offshore vessels, but emphasise the need for a physical model that serves as a foundational representation of the real world, bridging the gap between algorithms and reality. As they pointed out, AI typically requires massive volumes of data on which to learn. By embedding a physical model, AI can learn accurate patterns much more quickly. Physical models can also enable AI to simulate outcomes safely before applying them. “Safety is the prime concern,” said Mr Runge. “Then there’s the question, how do you get the output from AI to the right person, in a format that they have the mental capacity to assimilate?”

Many of the experts interviewed by OSJ also agreed that it will be increasingly important to reduce the operating costs of the next generation of OSVs. Not all agreed on this point – some argue that a multipurpose vessel can easily become a multi-useless one – but believe that next-generation vessels will need to be easily and quickly converted for new roles, in order to ensure they are ‘future-robust.’ Given that it is becoming harder to recruit young people to work in the offshore oil and gas and marine industries, they argue that habitability is growing in importance, and ever-greater focus will be required on recreation areas and the facilities to be found in them. Providing clients with more data and enabling them to monitor vessel operations from land is increasingly important, and so too is the kind of ‘smart maintenance’ that next-generation monitoring and control can provide.

The bulk of the OSV fleet will continue to be made up of monohulls, with more specialised designs, such as small waterplane area twin (SWATH) units, used sparingly for specific roles, although they noted that hullforms such as these are not without compromises. As recently introduced propulsors, such as rim-drive units – in which the propeller has no central hub or shaft and the propeller blades are connected to an outer ring that houses permanent magnets – have demonstrated, innovative propulsors may play a greater role in OSV design.

Concluding, Mr Koster said he sees more compact, integrated designs coming to the fore; vessels that maximise functionality, while minimising environmental footprint. Future designs will be more flexible, he suggested accommodating alternative fuels such as biofuels, methanol and hydrogen. They will be based on a multifaceted approach that optimises performance and efficiency, ensuring OSVs remain adaptable and future-proof. “By embracing these design principles, we can shape the future of OSVs, ensuring that the vessels of tomorrow are adaptable, sustainable, and capable of navigating diverse frontiers,” he said. “This extends beyond simply designing and building ships – it’s about crafting solutions that are driven by innovation.”

“Ultimately, ship design is no longer about identifying a feasible solution,” said Mr Hivand. “It is about determining the optimal balance between performance, cost and emissions within an increasingly complex system.”