The most powerful offshore vessel ever built – Far Samson - which was designed by Rolls-Royce and built by STX Europe for Farstad Shipping in Norway, has been awarded Offshore Support Journal’s ‘Ship of the Year 2009’ award.

Rolls-Royce developed the design of the UT 761 CD working closely with Farstad to meet the terms of a long term charter contract. Far Samson, which was formally named and delivered in March, has demonstrated a continuous bollard pull of 423 tonnes using all available power and more than 377 tonnes using her main propulsion system.

Apart from its world record-breaking bollard pull, Far Samson is an innovative vessel in many respects, and incorporates a wide range of new technology.

The vessel is a truly multifunctional offshore vessel and is capable of carrying out heavy ploughing operations for pipes and cables on the seabed, as well as subsea installation work in ultra deep water, along with towing, deploying ROVs and conducting a range of subsea operations. The vessel can cut trenches in the seabed in water up to 1,000m deep.

At 121.5m in length with a 26m beam, Far Samson also has an ice-strengthened hull to Ice Class 1B, and is capable of more than 19 knots. The vessel also benefits from an innovative hybrid propulsion system combining diesel-electric and diesel mechanical transmission, which provides optimal operating flexibility, fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions.

The diesel engines on board meet Clean Design class rules and catalytic converters are also fitted to the generator sets, giving a 95 per cent nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction.

OSJ Ship of the Year awards will be presented to Farstad Shipping, Rolls-Royce Marine and STX Europe at 1.00pm on Thursday June 11th the OSJ Conference at Nor-Shipping, which takes place at Thon Hotel Arena, Lillestrom, Norway.

Far Samson will also be the subject of a special in-depth supplement in the September/October 2009 issue of OSJ.

Tags: Farstad Shipping