Three ULSTEIN developed designs were appointed as nominees for innovation awards in 2012, the ULSTEIN Windlifter, the Northern Light Drill Tower and the Polarcus Amani.
The ULSTEIN Windlifter, developed by Dutch companies Ulstein Idea Equipment Solutions and Ulstein Sea of Solutions, is a turbine installation vessel suitable for single lift installations. Unlike jack-up units, the vessel is not limited by waterdepth. The installation system is a modular, mechanical system to skid turbines from the vessel onto the foundation. The installation system excels in its simplicity, doing away with complex and therefore failure prone systems, like heave compensation. All components in the installation system are relatively close to deck level, improving accessibility and reducing maintenance costs.
The Northern Light Drill Tower is developed by NLI Solutions in close cooperation with Ulstein Sea of Solutions based on the latter’s initial concept of a drill tower consisting of four vertical box beams as the main structural components. The drill floor and substructure are fully integrated and the optional foldable top enables a reduction in air draft.
These two designs were nominated as ONS Innovators, while the arctic-ready seismic vessel Polarcus Amani, developed by Ulstein Design & Solutions, is one of three vessels nominated as Ship of the Year 2012 by Skipsrevyen. “To be nominated, the degree of innovation is the main criterion,” says Asle Strønen , member of the jury . Being of the SX134 design, Polarcus Amani carries the ICE-1A and Winterized Basic notations from DNV, and can operate in first-year ice of up to 1 metre thickness.
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Offshore WIND staff, July 19, 2012; Image: ulstein