All thrusters that are ready for delivery from Brunvoll undergo a demanding test run. Here, the company’s biggest retractable thruster is subjected to this process.
The contract that has now been awarded confirms Brunvoll’s position as a world-leading partner in thruster systems for shuttle tankers with dynamic positioning.
Signed last week, the large contract means that Brunvoll’s production at the Molde factory will be running at high capacity this year, because most of the order will be produced and delivered in 2020.
“This order means we can already say with great confidence that we will achieve high volumes in our factory in Molde in 2020. The order also provides a platform for winning more orders like this one in the future. The result is that we can continue our strong commitment to developing the Group at a time of increasingly demanding requirements. We have been investing resources in technological development for many years, and we have highly skilled employees capable of developing new products and services to meet the needs of our loyal customers in the future,” says Kåre Øyvind Vassdal, CEO at Brunvoll.
The world’s largest shipyard, Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea, has ordered the thruster systems for the construction of three new shuttle tankers for the Malaysian shipping company AET. With some 90 vessels, AET is one of the leading suppliers of ocean transportation to the international oil industry.
The three 155,000 dwt shuttle tankers that AET has now ordered will be part of the company’s operations in oil fields outside Brazil. During operation, the vessels will use dynamic positioning (DP) with the help of two tunnel thrusters and three retractable azimuth thrusters totalling 13,700 kW (18,103 HP) from Brunvoll. Brunvoll has just completed the delivery of similar thruster systems to five vessels ordered by the same shipping company built at the Samsung shipyard in South Korea.
“With this contract and several other deliveries to the same segment, we are consolidating our position as preferred partner for thruster systems for DP shuttle tankers for leading players with operations in the northern regions and in Brazilian waters,” commented Per Olav Løkseth, Marketing Director at Brunvoll.
Today there are 84 DP shuttle tankers in operation and on order. Over the years, Brunvoll has built up a market share in the segment of a full 70%. Several of the older vessels in this segment are being phased out as they complete 20 years in operation – which is the maximum operating period for this type of vessel.
“This order makes us optimistic about winning further contracts for delivery of our propulsion and thruster systems to shuttle tankers that are in the planning process, both in the short term and in the years to come, as the shipping companies renew their fleets. We are committed to optimizing our complete solutions for propulsion and manoeuvring systems for the next generation of shuttle tankers, which are built to meet stringent environmental requirements. Our solutions result in lower energy consumption and lower emissions for the operator, and we focus on sustainability in the manufacture of our products,” says Løkseth.
The contract with AET is one of the largest single orders in Brunvoll’s history. Focused efforts from our entire organization over time have helped to build our position as a preferred partner in the shuttle tanker segment. AET’s order of three new vessels with Brunvoll thruster systems shortly after the previous delivery confirms that Brunvoll’s products deliver expected results and quality.
