VESSEL REVIEW | Guohai Minfeng – Sinoocean’s new fleet of 65m supply vessels

Chinese shipbuilder China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) recently handed over a fleet of newbuild platform supply vessels (PSVs) to local customer China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) for use by its Service Ship Division.

Sister vessels Guohai Minfeng, Guohai Minyu, Guohai Minyuan, and Guohai Mincheng will be operated by Guohai Offshore Assets Management on behalf of CNOOC. Design work on the newbuilds was provided by local naval architecture firm KCM in compliance to ABS and China Classification Society (CCS) guidelines.

Each PSV has a length of 65 metres, a beam of 15.8 metres, a design draught of 5.2 metres, a depth of 6.5 metres, and a deadweight of 1,700 tonnes. Cargo is transported on a spacious aft deck with an area of 450 square metres. Also fitted are a DP2 system, external firefighting equipment, rescue equipment, and cargo tanks for storing mud, brine, and drilling water.

In addition to fulfilling their primary role of re-supply, the vessels can undertake limited towing and anchor handling thanks to propulsion systems that can deliver a bollard pull of 80 tonnes as well as a speed of 13 knots. The propulsion arrangement on each PSV also includes two azimuthing stern thrusters and two bow thrusters.

The new vessels have already commenced operational sailings, and their capabilities were demonstrated during two actual emergency response deployments on the same day earlier this month. On September 1, Guohai Minfeng was called on to rescue the crew of a floating crane vessel that had gone adrift in bad weather in the Bohai Sea off Shandong province.

Within minutes of the conclusion of this successful rescue operation, Guohai Minfeng was requested to aid the crew of a bulk carrier that had run aground nearby and suffered water ingress. The PSV was called on to assist as the strong winds and rough waves in the area prevented the deployment of other emergency response vessels.

The PSV crew subsequently took the bulk carrier crew on board their own vessel. The PSV even assisted in the refloating of the grounded ship and provided escort as the latter transited under its own power to Dongying Port in Shandong later that same day.

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