AWARDS 2024 | Best Small DSV – ADNOC MD 01 – Robert Allan Ltd

Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) is a truly global firm of naval architects that is renowned for its tugs, OSVs, work, research and rescue vessels. ADNOC MD 01 is quite a departure from the standard fare of Robert Allan.

It is, nevertheless, a very interesting and impressive craft – the first of two – that should serve her UAE owner very well.

She’s a roomy, stable, practical and generally very impressive craft with all the innovation and refinement expected of a Robert Allan design.

"It’s a well-rounded package in a sub-24-metre vessel," Evan Gatehouse, Senior Naval Architect and Project Director at RAL, told Baird Maritime. "The catamaran configuration allowed a lot of open deck space aft for diving operations."

RAL managed to keep all the crew accommodation in the forward deckhouse and locate the extensive suite of diving equipment machinery in the hulls. Gatehouse said this is ideal for crew comfort and gives more room to work on machinery when it is not all crowded in one machinery space.

The dive operations and decompression chamber are fitted in the aft end of the deckhouse.

"One great feature is the chamber airlock is right on the aft face of the deckhouse," added Gatehouse. "Sometimes seconds count when getting a diver into the chamber, so this arrangement gets them into the chamber as fast as possible.

"The port side of the deckhouse aft was the 'wet' side where divers could change, or rest and the starboard side aft was the 'dry' dive supervisor area with the chamber in between. This worked out well as a nice division of functions."

Gatehouse remarked that when working on ADNOC MD 01, RAL and the yard had "excellent cooperation".

"One issue was long lead time for engines. The yard was forced to order engines well before the final power and resistance predictions were complete. They purchased engines with more power than we had initially estimated, but it worked out well, as additional fendering and other equipment was added later."

RAL had also designed cylindrical loose tanks for weight reasons whereas the yard preferred integral tanks for ease of production. The designer also moved all gas cylinders to outside the deckhouse.

"It makes it much easier to remove to shore for annual inspections, and less risk of fire than if they are located inside the hull," said Gatehouse.

ADNOC MD 01 was one of RAL's more recent projects for customers in the offshore industry. According to Lawren Best, the company's Director of Design Development, the offshore industry appears poised for parallel investments in both the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors, but the exact pace and longevity is to be determined.

"The limited number of non-windfarm offshore vessels built over the last ten years has created some newbuild opportunities where energy majors are offering long term contracts," said Best, "but today’s newbuilding costs need to be compensated for with a renewed focus on efficiencies, reduced downtime and long-term operating costs."

Best said the need for efficiency is one of the factors that have been heavily impacting naval architecture in 2025, along with the "push for sustainability" driving the adoption of alternative fuels, hybrid propulsion, and energy-efficient designs.

"Reliability, crew habitability, and safety continue to be paramount within our designs," he told Baird Maritime. "Combining these features with the digitalisation and advanced analysis that are transforming the design process, shipbuilding and operations will allow the next generations of vessels to be deployed in [the] most efficient manners."

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