China-based Dalian Shipbuilding Industry (DSIC) has secured an approval-in-principle (AiP) certificate from Norwegian classification society DNV GL for a new shuttle tanker design.

Before awarding the AiP, DNV GL participated in a two-day shuttle tanker workshop held at DSIC.

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The shuttles will be operated in the North Sea and the Norwegian Continent Shelf. The design complies with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 regulations.

“The shuttles will be operated in the North Sea and the Norwegian Continent Shelf.”

DNV GL shuttle tankers expert Olav Tveit said: “DNV GL class has the biggest share of the global shuttle tanker market, in particular for those operating in the North Atlantic.”

DNV GL has also awarded a separate AiP to DSIC for a column-stabilised crane unit design.

Called DSCU12000, the design features a dynamic positioning system and two rotary heavy-lift cranes and S-Lay pipe laying system.

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The crane design is developed on the basis of DNV GL’s +1A Column-stabilised Crane Unit DYNPOS-AUTRO Crane-offshore class notation. It also meets the latest DNV GL offshore standards and IMO’s Mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) code.

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