AWARDS 2024 | Best High-Speed Crewboat – Energy Craft 3514-01 – Aircat Vessels, ESNA & Strategic Marine

You would think that building complex SES catamarans for operations off Angola in West Africa would be illogical. However, that first thought would be quite wrong. This trio of very fast (50 knots+) crew/supply boats has been developed by a French/Norwegian design collaboration and a noted Singaporean builder to operate successfully in just such conditions.

With four engines in a catamaran hull form, there is significant redundancy and the surface effect system ensures efficient obstacle “hopping” as well as economy. These boats represent thinking that is a long way “out of the box”, to great effect.

"What makes the boat special is its unique air cushion technology, which significantly enhances speed, fuel efficiency, and ride comfort compared to conventional crewboats," Arthur Fraccaro, Business Development Manager at Aircat, told Baird Maritime.

"The vessel is capable of reaching speeds of over 50 knots, allowing for faster transits and optimised operational efficiency. Thanks to the SES technology, the vessel offers unparalleled seakeeping abilities, reducing motion and improving crew comfort, especially in rough conditions."

Fraccaro said that the low wake signature and reduced fuel consumption make the crewboat an eco-friendly alternative for offshore logistics and aligns with the industry's push towards sustainable and cost-effective solutions.

"Designed specifically for the oil and gas sector, it provides a safe, reliable, and high-performance solution that meets the increasing demand for fast crew transfers without compromising stability or efficiency."

"The combination of efficiency, speed and comfort is what all the involved parties seek," added Stig Kile Gjelsten, Naval Architect and Head of Sales at co-designer Espeland and Skomedal Naval Architects (ESNA). "Sometimes going faster is how you can save fuel, and thereby money from the operator’s point of view."

"It is one of three vessels built for a specific tender in Angola where the travelling distances to the offshore installations are significant and require vessels capable of operating at very high speed over long periods in offshore conditions while providing safety and comfort for passengers," said Hans Randklev, General Manager at Commercial at Strategic Marine.

"The vessel utilise SES technology, which can significantly reduce hull resistance, thereby offering higher speed and lower energy consumption. The vessels are replacing smaller and slower vessels and provide transits in roughly half the time and twice the comfort."

Randklev believes the vessels provide a viable alternative to helicopters at lower cost and lower emissions per passenger while also offering the ability to carry cargo.

"Our most important realisation from this project is that the vessels met all of their performance targets, which at the outset is what we were most concerned about," Randklev continued.

"As with most first of class vessels, we had to do some troubleshooting along the way and of course SES vessels are different from conventional catamaran vessels, so we had to rethink some of our processes and spend a bit more time during the testing and trials stages to get the trim right."

Strategic Marine also experienced some design delays and supply chain disruptions that impacted the project timeline, and Randklev said he and his team learned that some of the boat's equipment that perform well at 30 knots will not necessarily be capable of operating at speeds of 50 knots.

"We will not pretend that this vessel didn’t have some challenging requirements," Gjelsten told Baird Maritime, "but that is quite understandably the case when you are aiming for a design with performance and practicalities that challenge both the well-established fleet of crewboats and helicopters while adapting to new trends and expectations."

For Gjelsten, one of the key aspects about the project was working with a lot of different parties with different specialities and considerations. This continually challenged ESNA and the design, which then meant that the design itself kept improving.

"We were delighted to showcase how the final design ended up."

Gjelsten believes that perhaps the most important lesson taught by the project is the benefit of surrounding oneself with other parties willing to take on challenges. The result is the design keeps on improving, and it is a practice that ESNA will apply when taking on challenges on other vessel projects in the future.

"The design process presented several challenges, primarily due to the conflicting requirements we had to balance," said Fraccaro. "Given that this is an SES vessel, it needed to be extremely fast and highly efficient.

At the same time, it had to offer a high level of comfort, including certain luxury features for passengers. Merging these aspects' performance, efficiency, and premium comfort proved to be no easy task for Aircat.

"However, through extensive brainstorming and strong teamwork, we managed to create a design that not only met but also exceeded the expectations of our end client."

Through the project, the Aircat design team learned the importance of ensuring a seamless transition from design to construction and, ultimately, to operational service.

"Our philosophy is not to consider our designs as final and fixed," said Fraccaro. "Instead, we continuously follow up on our vessels in operation, working closely with owners and operators. This approach allows us to refine and improve our designs based on real-world performance and user feedback, ensuring that each new vessel benefits from an ongoing process of evolution and optimisation."

As regulations in the maritime industry are constantly evolving, Fraccaro believes that these are expected and that those in the industry must learn to adapt to them.

"Some regulatory frameworks were not originally designed with vessels like ours in mind, making their application a bit complex at times, but these challenges are manageable," he told Baird Maritime.

In Fraccaro's view, the most significant trend shaping vessel design today is the push for more environmentally friendly solutions.

"Many industry players are focusing on electric propulsion, which is often seen as the ultimate answer to reducing emissions. However, within our specific niche, long-range, very high-speed vessels that are fully electric or hybrid-electric solutions are not yet viable in terms of efficiency, weight, and operational reliability."

Fraccaro said that key challenge lies in explaining to stakeholders how a vessel powered by four high-performance diesel engines, operating at speeds of 50 knots, is actually a step forward in environmental sustainability.

"By replacing older, less efficient designs, our vessels provide an immediate 30 to 40 per cent reduction in emissions, significantly improving operational sustainability while maintaining the reliability and speed required for demanding offshore operations."

"The need to reduce fuel consumption is a trend that poses some challenges," added Gjelsten, "but it also paves the way for different solutions and overall new thinking when it comes to how best solve a particular issue.

"On this vessel, we have not used any radical new technologies and instead focused on delivering an effective and balanced design that simply needs less energy to do the job."

Gjelsten believes that it is also important not to overlook vessels' primary function.

"No matter what commercial trends or technical regulations we have to adhere to, we cannot forget that these craft will need to transport people. Therefore, one cannot really sacrifice comfort, and we will still aim to create the necessary atmosphere onboard."

"Emission reductions and energy efficiency remain key themes for most of our clients as they are under pressure by their regulators and stakeholders to operate with a reduced environmental footprint," said Randklev. "As a shipbuilder, we apply the latest developments in design and technology to provide solutions to achieve this."

Randklev, Gjelsten and Fraccaro all agree that 2024 was a busy year for their respective companies, partly because of the deliveries of these highly efficient craft to Angola.

"These vessels underwent extensive testing, and the results even surpassed our expectations," said Fraccaro. "All three units achieved speeds exceeding 53 knots while maintaining an exceptional level of comfort, demonstrating the success of our design approach."

"We delivered many of our gyrostabilised fast crewboats to our customers in the Middle East and across Southeast Asia," added Randklev. "We also signed contracts with two established ferry operators for a total of five high-speed ferries and we are seeing further demand from ferry operators for new vessels."

Strategic Marine also secured orders for six crewboats in Europe and a workboat for an Australian operator while also delivering crewboats to customers in France, the UK, Poland, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

"Looking ahead, we at Aircat are very optimistic," said Fraccaro. "There is growing interest in our vessels, and we are engaged in discussions with several operators and end-users who see the use of our vessels as a way to enhance their operational efficiency and secure a competitive edge in the evolving market.

"The industry is recognising the value of our innovative approach, and we expect this momentum to continue."

Fraccaro observes that the offshore industry is under increasing pressure to reduce costs and adopt more efficient and environmentally friendly solutions.

"Traditionally, this sector has been conservative when it comes to new technologies, but we are witnessing a change with operators becoming more open to innovative approaches," he told Baird Maritime.

One potential development is the rise of shared vessel assets, where companies pool resources to optimise costs and improve operational efficiency. Additionally, technological advancements in propulsion, alternative fuels, and smart onboard systems are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future of offshore operations.

"At Aircat, we are committed to staying at the forefront of these changes. Our team continuously explores improvements not just in propulsion and energy sources but across all onboard systems, ensuring our designs remain cutting-edge and adaptable to future industry needs."

"The offshore industry will develop positively in the coming years," added Gjelsten. "For many years there have been too few investments, which needs to be compensated for going forward. A lot of the existing fleets are ageing and there is a need to modernise."

"We have solutions for operators in both oil and gas and offshore wind," said Randklev, "and we see strong interest in vessels that can service offshore installations further from shore, which has traditionally been done by helicopters or by larger vessels that stay offshore for weeks on end.

"Now, however, we do have high-speed vessel solutions such as SES crewboats that offer a step change in speed, are more cost-effective and have lower emissions. I expect this will be an evolving trend going forward as the capabilities and benefits become clearer."

Another trend Strategic Marine hopes to help drive forward is improving comfort and safety at sea by incorporating gyrostabilisation on its vessels.

"It is now two years since we launched our crewboat with gyrostabilisation. This has quickly become a must-have for operators as it offers significant operational benefits and a larger operational window. Most of the fast crewboats we sell these days are equipped with gyrostabilisers."

Strategic Marine is also focused on developing vessel solutions for alternative fuels and hybrid/electric drives and developing a good understanding of when and where each solution can offer customers meaningful benefits.

"Each operation is different, and going forward, I think we will need to have vessel solutions that can work with a variety of energy sources."

Regional predictions

Randklev believes that South East Asia presents an interesting market with Strategic Marine right in the middle of it geographically. Singapore in particular is embracing decarbonisation goals and looking to implement low-emission and zero local-emission marine transportation where possible.

"We expect this focus to continue at pace and that both operators and the shipbuilding industry will continue to develop their capabilities and understanding of how best to apply technology to reduce emissions."

"The Scandinavian workboat market is quite good, especially in the very healthy salmon market," said Gjelsten. "The trends are mainly towards reducing emissions, which mostly means the use of electrification or hybrid solutions."

"We are particularly interested in the advancements in AI-assisted technologies, which have the potential to revolutionise vessel operations and maintenance," said Fraccaro. "Additionally, we are closely following improvements in electric propulsion efficiency and the development of alternative fuels, as these will be key drivers in the maritime industry's transition toward sustainability.

"Our goal is to remain agile, embracing new technologies that align with our mission of delivering high-performance, environmentally responsible vessels for the offshore industry worldwide."

For a list of the 2024 "Best Of" award winners, please click here.