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Displaying items by tag: Arklow Nebuild Joined

#Hullcompleted - Arklow View (yard no. 722) the second newbuild, currently under construction for Arklow Shipping, made notable progress at a Dutch inland yard on Monday, as the fore and aft sections were joined to form the hull, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The aftship was transported outside from building hall at Royal Bodewes yard in Hoogezand outside Groningen, for connection to the fore-ship. This took place alongside the quay of the north-eastern Dutch shipyard. Close to this location within the yard complex is where the newbuild will be launched sideways into a canal, like leadship, Arklow Vale which made a September spectacular splash!

Arklow View is the latest of the series of 10 ‘V’ class cargoships of the 5,100dwat Bodewes Traders design on order for ASL’s Dutch division, Arklow Shipping Nederland B.V. The 2,999grt series have a Bureau Veritas class Notation of Class 1+ Hull Mach +AUT-UMS, IWS, strength bottom, heavy cargo and general cargo.

The newbuilds feature a distinctive bow from Groot Ship Design, so to minimise wave resistance and improve fuel energy efficiency. At 89m (LOA) long the hull has a total hold capacity of 6258m3 / 221,000ft3 and hatch covers use a Coops & Nieborg pontoon system.

A main powerplant is from a MaK 6M25 1740 kW engine with Siemens Gearbox. This generates a speed of around 14.5 knots and the newbuilds have a Berg controllable pitch propeller.

When work is completed on Arklow View, she will follow the leadship’s wake along the canals connecting to Delfzijl on the Ems Estuary. It was from Delfzijl, where Arklow Vale took sea-trials out into the Wadden Sea before making her maiden repositioning voyage into the North Sea to Ghent.

Arklow Vale was understood to have made her first commercial voyage flying the Dutch flag as she set sail from the Belgium port with an arrival at the weekend to Pasaia in northern Spain.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations