Dutch Pilot organization orders three Pilot Station Vessels at Barkmeijer Shipyards
In close cooperation with Barkmeijer Shipyards, Sastech and the Dutch Pilot Organization (DPO), Conoship developed a design for a Pilot Station Vessel (PSV). The design has been specified for a new series of vessels to replace cutters more than 30 years old currently operated by the DPO. Pilot Station Vessels are deployed offshore on a semi-permanent basis, providing a ‘floating’ base from where pilots are transferred by fast launches to and from inbound and outbound ships.
The PSV has been specifically designed to meet operational needs and habitability criteria in harsh weather conditions, with significant wave heights up to 3.5 m. The design effectively increases the number of days the pilots can operate from the station vessel, reducing the need for costly transfers by helicopter.
To meet the seakeeping requirements of the DPO, the hull form was optimised with regard to behaviour in a seaway. The design was extensively tested by MARIN in the institute’s large seakeeping basin. The test tank programme included taking a model of the existing SWATH pilot craft alongside a model of the PSV, in heavy weather. These investigations demonstrated that the new design would comply with the DPO’s stringent stipulations.
Another major aspect of the design is safety. The vessels need to operate near the busy shipping lanes and in the close vicinity of far bigger ships. The PSV has therefore been designed to be exceptionally manoeuvrable, and to offer impressive “sprint” and stopping capabilities. So as to enhance safety for both crew and pilots, a high level of redundancy has been incorporated, as in the diesel-electric propulsion installation. The diesel-electric system also reduces harmful exhaust gas emissions, such that the new PSV class can aptly be described as a “green design”.
Barkmeijer Shipyards has signed a contract with the Dutch Pilot Organization to build three of these vessels, of which the first is scheduled to be delivered during the autumn of 2012. The development of the PSV design illustrates Conoship’s enduring strength in the design of specialised and complex tonnage, including hydrographic research vessels, oil spill response vessels, or trailing suction hopper dredgers.
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Main dimensions
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Length between perpendiculars
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74.80
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m
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Breadth (moulded)
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13.30
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m
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Depth
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7.95
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m
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Speed (trail) abt.
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16
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kn
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Accommodation
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Pilots
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18
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Crew
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17
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Spare
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10
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