Ulstein Steps into New Offshore Market Segment

Ulstein Sea of Solutions (USOS) has been awarded the design contract for the CASCO Enabler, a high specification DP3 800 POB monohull accommodation vessel by CASCO Offshore, a specialised accommodation subsidiary of the TMA Group. With this contract Ulstein enters into a new offshore market segment.

Using the ULSTEIN Deepwater Enabler design as a base case and working in close collaboration with CASCO in relation to CASCO’s functional design and market considerations, the CASCO Enabler has been optimised to become best in its class.

Keen consideration has been given to CAPEX, OPEX and technical aspects like safety, high performance station keeping, crew comfort and logistics on board. The result has been a commercially very attractive vessel for the owner, which is confirmed by received yard quotations, and which should make it the most competitive vessel in the market once the first vessel is delivered in Q4 2016.

‘Developing the CASCO Enabler jointly with CASCO Offshore in a very open and constructive dialogue, has resulted in a unique, unrivalled design for this market segment’, says Bram Lambregts, Marketing & Sales Manager at USOS.

Drawing on many years of experience in the accommodation sector, the vessel has been designed to provide a natural flow for personnel from their work to home environments, and for the most efficient logistics with respect to services and supplies. The vessel is unique by having isolated, separated areas for accommodation, common areas and work areas.

It features an internal atrium providing for daylight in almost all of the cabins, and will have European standard fit out in all accommodation areas. Comfort for all personnel on board is further increased by having a free standing funnel stack completely physically removed from the accommodation, hence avoiding structurally induced noise. These are all unique comfort features, and the vessel meets DNV Comfort Class notation.

The vessel will be equipped with a telescopic gangway to facilitate safe and comfortable personnel transfer to platforms. An offshore crane with a lifting capacity of 50t at 16m is located at SB aft quarter. The crane foundation and integration in the vessel hull has already been prepared for future upgrade to up to a 500 tons crane, including space allocation in the vessel lay-out for an anti-heeling system.

The vessel also features a fire-fighting system equivalent to FiFi 1 class.

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Ulstein, May 5, 2014