First workboat with ‘independent suspension’ launched
During the launch ceremony the vessel was hoisted from its building bay by two gantry cranes and then positioned in the shipyard’s harbour basin (Source: Wallaby Boats)
Germany’s Wallaby Boats GmbH and Hitzler Werft GmbH have celebrated the launching of a new crew transfer vessel (CTV) with twin hulls equipped with ‘independent suspension’. The 18m-long catamaran, Wallaby-18, weighs 50 tonnes and is the first vessel intended for commercial operation with a suspension system developed by Australia’s Nauti-Craft.
The independent suspension technology has been designed to enable the two hulls to balance and compensate for wave forces independently. In passive mode, the hulls can be kept relatively stable and the system also dampens accelerations including roll, pitch, and yaw when the vessel is deployed on active transit voyages.
Classed by Lloyd’s Register, the pilot vessel is the result of broader collaboration with the Carbon Trust. The Wallaby-18 will be tested together with EnBW Erneuerbare Operation & Service GmbH, the vessel’s owner, while deployed in servicing offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.
The upper main deck structure and two separate hulls are connected by an active or passive hydraulic suspension and damping system to compensate for wave motion. The movement of the hulls caused by the swell is damped by the cylinders of this hydraulic system and converted into pressure and heat energy.
The waste heat is used to heat the ship and the deck in winter. The pressure is converted back into electrical energy and used to supplement the ship’s power supply in a so-called patented energy recovery system.
The prototype takes the Nauti-Craft technology from Technical Readiness Level (TRL) 5 to 7. It will subsequently be developed into a series of CTVs and marketed in sizes ranging from ten metres to 24m.
Wallaby Boats GmbH managing director, Eike Kristian Höper, remarked on the high level of interest in the new vessel and the number of requests for ‘test drives’.
Speaking for Hitzler Shipyard in Lauenburg, managing director, Marek Klimenko, said: “We are delighted to have brought the construction of this completely new type of ship to a successful conclusion and have been able to further strengthen our partnership with Wallaby Boats GmbH. The development of such an innovative vessel is always a great challenge. Since taking over the Hitzler shipyard in March 2021, we have been committed to innovative projects like this, which make shipping more environmentally friendly and the German shipbuilding location more attractive.”
The launch ceremony at the shipyard was unconventional to say the least. The vessel was hoisted from its building bay by two gantry cranes, each with a lifting capacity of 32 tonnes, and then ‘flown’ through the construction hall and positioned in the shipyard’s harbour basin.
"As a small shipping company from the tranquil town of Kappeln on the Schlei, we are very proud to have been involved in this exciting project from the very beginning. Over the next few weeks, the ship will be fitted out at Hitzler Werft's outfitting quay and tested in port before the crossing via Hamburg and the Kiel Canal for sea trials in the Baltic Sea. There, the ship with its innovative suspension system will be put through its paces and, in particular, demonstrate its performance in rough seas, which is eagerly awaited by the industry. The christening is planned for the end of April in Kappeln," said Harald Hübner, managing director of OFFCON GmbH, a German offshore consultancy.
