Recently delivered from Shin Yang Shipyard in Malaysia, 'Dayang Topaz' is a maintenance workboat built for local owner DESB Marine Services.
The new craft will be home-ported in the Port of Kuching in western Borneo for charter to serve the oil and gas industry. Designed by Wärtsilä Ship Design of Singapore, the vessel is the first workboat to comply with the code of safety for Special Purpose Shipping (SPS) in Malaysia.
Built in survey to the American Bureau of Shipping, the all-steel vessel measures 80.4 metres in length overall and 22.0 metres across her beam, with a draught of 5.3 metres and a depth of 7.0 metres, at a displacement of 7,028.7 tonnes.
Propulsion is provided by a pair of Caterpillar 3512B engines, each rated 1,500kW at 1,600rpm, powering twin fixed-pitch propellers via Twindisc MGX6500 gearboxes. This drive chain delivers a cruising speed of 12 knots at full load. With capacity for 788.2 tonnes of fuel, the vessel has an endurance of 40 days. Auxilary power comes from three Caterpillar C32 generators.
The main deck offers impressive cargo capacity with an open area of 700 square metres, serviced by a Favelle Favco 45-tonne crane. The forward-located wheelhouse boasts excellent 360-degree visibility and is equipped with a modern communications and navigation package largely provided by Furuno. 'Dayang Topaz' is designed for a crew of 26 and has accommodation for 173.
Shin Yang Shipping Corporation began life in the 1970s as a shipping company operating a small fleet of tugs and barges. In the 1990s it moved into shipbuilding, responding to the needs of the rapidly developing offshore oil and gas fields in the region. The company's fleet now consists of more than 200 vessels with operations extending all the way to the Middle East.
