Danish "Ship of Year 2016" selected

Announcement of the selection came during the Danish Maritime Days trade fair in Copenhagen in late October. The vessel was designed in close cooperation among the Norwegian Coastal Administration (in Norwegian: Kystverket), Denmark's Hvide Sande Shipyard – where it was built – and AS Jørgen Petersen (ASJP), now part of the Danish naval architect consultancy OSK-ShipTech AS, which was responsible for the basic design.
OV Bøkfjord is "two vessels in one hull" with its ability to function as both a buoys- and beacons-maintenance vessel on a daily basis as well as an oil recovery vessel for the Norwegian Coastal Administration. It is designed for fast response times and fitted with special equipment, e.g., surface oil skimmers, dedicated holding tanks, etc. The compact vessel has an advanced diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system.
“We're really proud to be part of the winning project again,” remarked OSK CEO Anders Ørgård. “Last year we won with Princess Isabella, Denmark’s first domestic LNG-powered passenger ferry, and the year before that the winner was Stavangerfjord of Fjord Line, where OSK was involved as owner’s advisor. This year the award was motivated by the complex design of this compact multi-purpose vessel.”
Ørgård said the Norwegian Coastal Administration wanted a series of complex functionalities incorporated into one compact vessel design, requiring creativity from the designer.
“We’ve developed a complex ramp system allowing the vessel to approach smaller islands and also to use the ramps for dynamic positioning during repairs at sea,” he noted. “These, as well as oil sweepers, holding tanks, offshore crane, etc, have been integrated in the design while also making space for a battery pack, as Kystverket wanted the vessel to have diesel-electric hybrid propulsion.”