VESSEL REVIEW | Ocean Crewzer VI – New fast crewboat for oil and gas support duties off India
Indian shipbuilder and owner SHM Shipcare has placed its first aluminium high-speed crewboat, Ocean Crewzer VI, into class with the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), completing a project the company said was designed and built in six months for offshore work supporting the activities of India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
SHM said in its launch announcement that the craft was built in full compliance with the International Maritime Organization's 2000 High-Speed Craft Code, and that only two builders in India, including itself, currently produce high-speed aluminium crewboats of this class and size.
The same event marked the ceremonial keel-laying of a sister vessel, Ocean Crewzer VII.
IRS has assigned the hull notation + SUL HSC RS1, Passenger – Category A Craft, with the machinery notation + IY. The record describes the ship type as a crewboat with a capacity of 21 passengers.
Shallow draught to permit nearshore as well as offshore operation
Ocean Crewzer VI has a length overall of 29 metres (95 feet), a length between perpendiculars of 25.73 metres (84.42 feet), a moulded beam of seven metres (23 feet) and a moulded depth of 3.2 metres (10 feet). The vessel's maximum draught is only 1.394 metres (4.57 feet), with a freeboard of 1,601 millimetres (63.03 inches). Gross and net tonnage are both recorded as 169.
The shallow maximum draught of under 1.4 metres (4.6 feet) facilitates operations from Indian west coast bases, where jetty depths and silting can limit access for deeper-draught supply vessels. ONGC operates the Mumbai High offshore complex and other fields off India's west coast.
Propulsion configured for fast transits
Lightship weight is 75.962 tonnes and deadweight is 38.652, for a full-load displacement of 114.614 tonnes.
Propulsion is courtesy of twin Caterpillar C32 engines with a total installed power of 2,162 kW (2,900 hp), for a service speed of 22 knots. Electrical power comes from two generators of 93.6 kW each, producing 415 V at 50 Hz AC.
