Beacon Finland signed a Design Agreement
with Samsung Heavy Industries
B
eacon Finland Ltd Oy and one of the
world’s biggest shipyards have signed a
joint design agreement. Beacon Finland will
be designing the thruster canisters for a drill
ship that will be built at Samsung’s ship yard in
Geoje, South Korea. The agreement includes
an additional option for ten similar vessels.
“The agreement and optional vessels
will provide us with full employment for a total of almost three years. The design work will
keep us busy for many periods lasting several months, and, all in all, this is a remarkable
agreement for Beacon Finland,” says Ms. Tuija
Hörkkö, Managing Director of Beacon Finland.
THE THRUSTER CANISTERS WILL
ENABLE UNINTERRUPTED PRODUCTION
The canisters are modules that are equipped
with their own engines and can be retracted
into the ship when necessary. The thrusters are
attached to the modules. Normally a drill ship
has six thruster systems to keep it in the correct position. In deep waters, there is no possibility to use ordinary anchorage.
“Despite the fact that the vessel is not
physically anchored to any site, it can retain
its exact position through the use of a modern positioning technique (Dynamic Positioning) and the thrusters. The thruster systems are
also used to move the vessel from one place
to another,” Hörkkö explains.
The drill ships are operating 24/7. Thanks
to the canister solution by Beacon Finland,
there are fewer production stops for thruster servicing and maintenance. The modules
can, one at a time, be retracted into the ship
for service.
The module is based on Beacon Finland´s
own product development. The development
process has been extensive and has required a
fair amount of resources. “New applications of
the canister concept will be presented to relevant potential customers in the near future.
The applications will broaden the usage of the
concept to other types of vessels in the offshore industry, e.g. LNG and FPSO vessels.”
The thruster canisters are modules with their own engines that can be
retracted into the ship for service of the thrusters. The canisters offer
economic and productivity advantages as there are fewer production
stops for thruster service and maintenance.
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