The MV Lone has completed her upgrade from DP class I to DP Class II. The heavy-lift vessel, which is part of the SAL fleet, was upgraded in December in the dry-dock of the German shipyard Norderwerft (Sietas Group) in Hamburg. With her unrivalled service capability and service speed of 20 knots, the MV Lone is equipped to undertake ambitious projects within the oil and gas industry as well as offshore wind farms.

SAL, which belongs to the Japanese K-Line Group and is one of the leading international carriers specialising in the transportation of heavy lift cargos, owns the MV Lone and her twin MV Svenja, which has a DP class I capability. These two vessels, with a combined crane capacity of 2000t, both feature a high transit speed of up 20 knots and can claim to possess the largest lifting capability for this type of vessel in the world.

Dynamic positioning (DP) is the automatic control of the vessel in its three axes of freedom (surge, sway and yaw). A DP class II certification, which the MV lone now holds, means that a loss of position will not occur in the event of a failure of any single piece of critical equipment, thanks to the equipment specification of the vessel. During offshore installations where workers on platforms and other ships are involved, this fact, guaranteed under all but exceptional circumstances, ensures maximum safety for personnel and equipment.

"The MV Lone stands for SAL’s future strategy: the specialisation on ships with high crane-capacity and state-of-the-art technology," says Lars Rolner, CEO of SAL. "The installation of the DP2 system ensures an optimal capability within the highly complex area of oil, gas and wind offshore projects."

Operational advantages of DP2 and technical equipment
The main advantages of a DP class II system:

• Vessel is self-propelled so no tugs or static mooring systems required
• Vessel is very maneuverable and can respond rapidly to weather changes
• Vessel can respond rapidly to changes in project requirements
• Vessel can operate in almost any water depth

With these features in place, the MV Lone has all the necessary elements for undertaking complex projects in the area of oil and gas field development as well as offshore wind farm support.

Successful test and next deployment
In mid-December the vessel was subjected to a failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) trial, as required by class, to test all systems and detect any critical failures that might compromise its capability. The outcome of this trial, which took place in the Baltic Sea over a number of days, was to the satisfaction of all concerned and confirmed the operational credentials of the vessel. Germanischer Lloyd, the society classing the vessel overall, was thereafter able to issue a DP class II notation.

Apart from its high performance, MV Lone also possesses an environmental passport in line with the highest environmental standards. It is also ISO 140001 and OHSAS 18001 certified. The heavy lift vessel is 160.5m long, 27.5m wide and has a loading capacity of 11,000t or 40,000cbm cargo volume.

At the end of December the MV Lone loaded harbour mobile cranes in Rostock and commenced her transit to India and the Far East. In spring of this year the DP 2 system will be utilized during a six-month offshore project which will see the vessel load a spooled carousel of 3,500tt and a manifold in the Gulf of Mexico. The cargo will be delivered to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea where the carousel will be unspooled and the manifold will be discharged via a subsea handshake to an installation vessel.