Ship & Boat International eNews: February 2021
Strategic Marine has delivered a new fast crew boat, Centus Eight, to Malaysian OSV operator Centus Marine. The 40m x 7.9m, 35dwt boat, constructed at Strategic Marine’s facility in Singapore, will be used primarily to support offshore oil and gas-related activities in Malaysian waters. Particulars include a moulded depth of 3.6m and a draught (to the propeller) of 1.9m.
Centus Eight's January sea trials saw the boat achieve a top speed of more than 30knots, courtesy of three Caterpillar C32 engines turning fixed-pitch propellers. Strategic elaborates: “The station-keeping and manoeuvring capability is further enhanced by a tunnel thruster installed at the bow.”
Strategic also worked with Southerly Designs of Australia to develop the boat’s Generation 3 hullform, which subsequently underwent testing at the Australian Maritime College. Southerly says that this hull design enables: faster operating speeds; reduced fuel consumption; increased deck and saloon space; and higher payload capacity, relative to a crew boat of this size.
Centus Eight’s aft deck has a clear area of 120m², with a deck strength of 2tonnes per m². This area is protected by crash rails and has been planked with “chemically treated hard timber”, Strategic reveals. Inside, meanwhile, the accommodation area comprises 16 berths spread across seven cabins, as well as a galley, mess and walk-in chiller/freezer space. The passenger saloon is fitted with 70 reclining seats, arranged in single- and twin-seat formations.The vessel also has a medical berth and six berths for up to 13 crewmen.
Onboard tanks accommodate 70m3 of fuel and 30m3 of fresh water, while a remote-controlled, 1,200m3-capacity water monitor enables the boat to undertake firefighting response.
Although offshore renewable energy may be attracting most of the headlines at present, the beleaguered oil and gas sector has an opportunity to recover this year, in the opinion of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA’s latest report predicts that, despite a “fragile” start to 2021, global oil demand is expected to grow by 5.4million barrels per day (bpd), to reach 96.4 million bpd by the end of the year – thus “recovering around 60% of the volume lost to the pandemic in 2020”, the agency claims.
