High Speed Transfers (HST) held a naming ceremony for its Damen Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710 on 3 July in Southampton, where the Seawork 2018 exhibition is currently taking place.
The vessel, named HST Hudson, is the first unit to be built after Damen designed the new FCS class based on the experience with its predecessor, the FCS 2610, and practical input from various clients and end-users such as Vattenfall, Siemens and E.ON.
According to Damen, HST – a Wales-based newcomer to the offshore energy transfer sector – sees the FCS 2710 as the way to make an immediate impact using an upgraded version of a vessel-type that is already well known in the market.
The new vessel, which retains the twin, axe bow design, is one metre longer and one metre taller than the FCS 2610.
The extra metre above the water not only increases the hull volume but also allows the vessel to operate in wave heights of above two metres, Damen stated, adding that this substantially increases the range of weather conditions in which it can be at sea, an important consideration given the longer distances that maintenance crews are now having to travel.
The new Fast Crew Supplier can also carry 26 passengers in its standard configuration – twice as many as its predecessor.
This has been done by optimising the available deck space by changing it from a stepped layout to one that is level, thus enabling a larger wheelhouse and more than doubling the interior volume available for the accommodation, all without any loss in deck space available for cargo transportation, Damen explained in May as it introduced the new FCS class and announced the construction of the first unit.
Offshore WIND Staff