Sweden's Northern Offshore Services (NOS) has begun operating a new catamaran crewboat at an offshore wind farm in UK waters. Named Impresser, the vessel is classed by Bureau Veritas and sails under the flag of Denmark.
The crewboat has an aluminium hull, a length of 34 metres, a beam of 11.2 metres, an operational draught of only 1.9 metres, and capacity for 24 technicians and up to 40 tonnes of deck cargo.
The vessel utilises Volvo Penta's upgraded IPS propulsion system, which has been dubbed the “professional platform.” It is an integrated helm-to-propeller system, incorporating controls, electronics, custom software, propulsion packages and more, designed to work together seamlessly and reduce errors and inefficiencies.
The four Volvo Penta D13 engines each produce 588 kW at 2,250 rpm to propel the crewboat to high transit speeds to and from offshore wind farms. The electronics suite includes a Furuno ECDIS, an Area A1 and A2 GMDSS, CCTV cameras, and a Reygar monitoring system.
Impresser is also being operated as a demonstrator vessel. It is equipped with a remote diagnostics package, which will capture more than 6,000 hours of data that will be incorporated into optimisation and future Volvo Penta propulsion design.