North Sea Shipping’s subsea construction vessel North Sea Giant has been fitted with an electronic bus link (EBL) system that allows it to switch between engines as required.
The installation means the Bakkasund, Norway-based company’s hybrid battery-powered vessel, which has a dynamic positioning (DP) class of DP3, will be able to operate in DP mode on just one engine and battery power.
The EBL system was provided by Helsinki-based Yaskawa Environmental Energy, also known as The Switch, as part of a broader retrofit supplied by Wärtsilä.
Yaskawa Environmental Energy general manager Asbjørn Halsebakke explained how the EBL works. “It works to connect the vessel’s DC-Hubs and diesel engines and ensure efficient ongoing operations, even if a critical fault occurs.
“It does this by splitting the onboard grids in a matter of microseconds, isolating faults and protecting the complete operational system.
“This offers significant savings on maintenance costs.
“Also, by rapidly connecting and disconnecting energy sources from one another, including batteries and engines, they can be optimised for efficiency.
“This eliminates the need for the operator to run three different units during all operations, saving on long-term fuel costs and reducing emissions.”
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