Third Island Offshore vessel starts operating for Lundin

Norwegian offshore vessel provider Island Offshore now has three hybrid platform supply vessels (PSVs) in service for Lundin Energy in Norway.

According to a Tuesday update by Island Offshore, the jack-up rig Rowan Viking has returned to Lundin’s Edvard Grieg field and is now connected to the production platform on the field.

The platform at Edvard Grieg does not have its own drilling tools, hence it uses this cantilever jack-up rig to drill through its platform deck.

With Rowan Viking in place, the Island Contender vessel started operations for Lundin Energy as a support vessel for the rig last week.

To remind, Island Offshore secured long-term contracts for three of its platform supply vessels from Lundin in March 2020.

The contracts were awarded to two LNG-fuelled PSVs, Island Crusader and Island Contender, as well as to their sister vessel Island Commander.

The vessel owner said that the Island Contender had batteries and shore connection installed in December 2020, which combined with the vessel’s gas engines will reduce the emissions to the environment substantially.

While in operation, a battery pack can be used as the spare capacity and extra safety when the vessel is alongside a rig, thus saving both fuel and generator running hours.

In addition, the battery will contribute with quick and effective power during transit, reducing the need to start up an extra generator for peak loads.

The shore power connections enable the vessels to lay alongside quays without using engine power where shore-side electrical power is supplied.

In ports without shore power, vessels can activate harbour mode, using battery power only. This reduces engine-running hours significantly and is a considerable contribution to reduce the local environmental impact, as well as fuel costs. The generator will only startup when the batteries are discharged, in order to recharge them.