Ship of the Year: NKT Victoria
In a ceremony at the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Oslo, the new state-of-the-art high-voltage cable laying vessel NKT Victoria was announced as winner of the prestigious Ship of the Year award.
Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Anniken Hauglie presented the award, in the presence of HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. The prize was presented to the vessel owner President and CEO of NKT Michael Lyng, shipbuilder Kleven’s CEO Ståle Rasmussen, design company Salt Ship Design’s CEO Arne Stenersen and captain of the vessel, Svein Ole Sæter.
The annual award goes to a Norwegian-built vessel that represents innovation, value added and technological advances. The goal is to acknowledge innovation in Norwegian ship development. This year’s second contender was the Windea Leibniz, a Service Operation Vessel (SOV) for the offshore wind industry.
The new NKT cable-laying vessel is among the world’s most advanced and provides improved cable-laying precision based on DP3 capability and a remotely operated vehicle using cameras and sonar, eliminating the need for divers.
The vessel features ABB's Onboard DC Grid and marine software. ABB’s Onboard DC Grid system will increase the efficiency of the vessel by allowing the ship’s engines to work at variable speed, in combination with energy storage for peak shaving and enhanced dynamic performance, optimizing the energy consumption and reducing engine maintenance. Energy storage is also used for back-up for shore connection during cable loading, allowing the ship to be emission free during cable loading.
Three Azipod C units will maximize the maneuverability of the ship and operate in DP3 mode when required. Azipod propulsion is significantly more fuel efficient than traditional propulsion systems, saving in excess of 700,000 tons of fuel since its introduction more than 25 years ago.
The Azipod thrusters are amongst 36 main components that send out in excess of 1,500 signals, culminating in a daily data package of approximately 80 megabytes – allowing the assets on board to be remotely monitored. Data is analyzed on the vessel and also sent to shore through ABB’s Remote Diagnostics System to the ABB Ability Collaborative Operation Centers, giving insight into the performance of the vessel. This allows troubleshooting in the event of equipment failure as well as better-informed maintenance.
ABB’s Performance Management System and Voyage Advisory System are installed on the cable layer. These support systems help the crew to optimize energy efficiency on board the vessel and ensures safe and efficient voyage execution. ABB’s marine software assists ship officers and engineers in making real time decisions enabling them to be proactive in safety and efficiency actions, resulting in more immediate benefits than just traditional post voyage analysis.
Palfinger Marine supplied a package consisting of a major winch package (including anchor- and mooring winches, six-point mooring system winches, A&R winches and various pulling winches) where all of them are electrical driven, two foldable knuckle boom cranes, two totally enclosed lifeboats with accompanying davits, as well as a rescue boat davit.