Update on the aluminium OSRV for Barbados

[Bajansailor]

Further to my previous thread here http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224851 posted a few months ago, I thought that some of you might be interested in a final update - yes, she was launched, sea trials were carried out successfully and she should now be on a ship somewhere between Antwerp and Barbados.

Myself and three members of the Operations team from the Oil Terminal here attended sea trials on a very chilly North Sea in the week before Easter, and some photos from these trials showing the vessel pottering along in Blyth harbour have just been posted on Alnmaritec's website here at http://www.alnmaritec.co.uk/boats/all_boats90.html - scroll down to ALN 096.

OK, she is not the prettiest of vessels, but she is very functional - I think she looks a bit like a large Tonka toy....... she is trimming slightly bow down in these photos, due to 1,000 litres (1 tonne) of water being carried on deck (on the starboard side of the wheelhouse) in the container for carrying dispersant - this container was later moved further aft by the crane, which improved things considerably.
In the event of an oil spill the dispersant would be sprayed on the resulting slick using the outriggers port and starboard.
The large hydraulic reel on the back accommodates 1,400' of floating boom for containing any oil spills - it is also a requirement that all tankers loading crude oil at the Oistins terminal here (on the south end of the island) have to have the boom in place around the tanker in case of any accidental spills while loading.
And Responder also has the facility for loading / deploying skimmers, and perhaps even buoy maintenance and handling moorings with her Palfinger crane which can reach out over the bow as well as port and starboard sides, due to the offset wheelhouse.

Here are a few extra photos of some details :

It was blowing about a Force 6 with a 2 m sea running on the day when we went on trials outside Blyth harbour - this photo does not really show the sea conditions but it was a wee bit choppy -

She easily managed a cruising speed of 8 knots, and we even hit 12.5 knots surfing down a wave according to the GPS......

Here is a wake shot when we were going out of the harbour :

A well laid out helm console :

Port side engine room inlet and exhaust vents :

Port side engine room hatch cover :

Not a very good engine photo (but it is the best I have) :

A well laid out steering gear installation (one in each hull) :

One of the propeller shaft seals :

S/S fuel lines, with easily accessible fuel shut off valves :

 

[GrowingLad]

Thanks for taking the time of writing it up and posting the photos. I read your previous posts too.

I found it all very interesting. Starting from scratch and building her up must have been like a giant adult mechano set....all be it a very complex one.

Very nice to hear that a British company is pruducing such boats that are being exported too!

Thanks again!

 

[AndieMac]

Thanks for the update Martin, I enjoy looking at the functional and practical workboats.

I guess it could have been put to good use on your side of the Atlantic, with all the recent goings on

 

[Bajansailor]

Simon, that is a good description re how building this boat was like putting together a grown up's Meccano kit!
Especially as all of the hull frames and shell plating were all cut out by a computer controlled plasma cutter, and then they were put together like a big kit.

I was very impressed by the quality of work put into this vessel by Alnmaritec. They have doubled their workforce in the past couple of years, and have no problems finding skilled artisans, as most of their crew did apprenticeships in the shipyards on the Tyne - most of which are now closed sadly.
And they are very competitive on the world market as well - Australia and China both have sound reputations for boat and shipbuilding at competitive prices, yet Alnmaritec have recently sent vessels to both of these countries, and are currently building a second boat for their Australian customer.

Our Responder might be a wee bit small for coping with offshore oil spills such as what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico, but I think that when she arrives here we should be pretty well set up here for tackling most types of oil spills at the Oistins loading terminal or at the Bridgetown Harbour.

I have posted a few more photos of Responder on my Facebook - here is a link, although I think you probably have to be 'logged in' to see them :
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=426397&id=736170181

 

[Latestarter1]

Martin,

Vessel looks to a high standard, may I be just a wee bit picky.

90 degree dry elbow off turbo flange to create swan neck for injection elbow has no insulation wrap. As no paint burned off the elbow do I assume this was before sea trials and heat blanket added after picture taken?

Cannot get a clear view of the injection elbow, but in my experience unless it is angled to drain free of seawater after shut down, residue will rot out the stainless elbow as quickly as three years even though 316 grade.

 

[sarabande]

you have lots of reasons to be very proud and pleased with her, and I hope if used in anger she does a good job for you.

PM sent.

 

[Bajansailor]

Martin,

Vessel looks to a high standard, may I be just a wee bit picky.

90 degree dry elbow off turbo flange to create swan neck for injection elbow has no insulation wrap. As no paint burned off the elbow do I assume this was before sea trials and heat blanket added after picture taken?

Cannot get a clear view of the injection elbow, but in my experience unless it is angled to drain free of seawater after shut down, residue will rot out the stainless elbow as quickly as three years even though 316 grade.

Excellent point LS!
And belated thanks for the comments about the Cummins 4BT engine in the previous thread as well.

Re the photo above of the aft end of the engine, it was taken after a few hours of trials had been carried out - I don't think a heat blanket was subsequently added.
The photo does not show the exhaust elbow very well - the only other photos I have that shows it (of sorts) was the one I posted in the previous thread, which I will copy below, and the one below that, which doesn't really show very much. :

Sarabande Tim mentioned (in a PM) some very useful points about the whole issue of labelling on a commercial vessel like this - I must admit that I was thinking Alnmaritec had done a pretty good job, but taking the fuel shut off valve pictured above, how far do you go with the labelling?
Should one assume that the valve operator will know in what position the valve is 'on' and 'off', or should these positions be labelled as well?
Are we then getting into information overload re labels in time of crisis?
And if there is a fire, and the aluminium panel which the label is glued to gets hot, will the glue melt and the label fall off?

When we visited Alnmaritec in early December, they were just getting ready for shipment a 15 m power cat that was destined for China (there are a few photos of her in the previous thread). They went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that everything was correctly labelled in Chinese (cant remember if Mandarin or Cantonese) - and the labels were made locally......

Changing tack slightly, I will throw in a couple of construction photos of the second in the series of low wash launches for the Port of London Authority - here is a link to some photos of the first boat built.
http://www.alnmaritec.co.uk/boats/boats_library/boat_aln084.html
She has Sea Torque drive systems, provided by Neil Young (of this parish) at H4 Marine.

Just imagine having to cut all of these frames out by hand - a computer controller plasma cutter cut all of these with ease.

How do you like that deep and very fine forefoot on the bow? (the green on the photo is not on the aluminium, rather its from trying to lighten the photo from almost dark)

Changing tack again, here is a photo of a standard Waveworker hull being built - our OSRV started off life on the drawing board with a hull form similar to this, and then it gradually evolved.....