A 5 Billion USD Market for Scientific Research Vessels! New Opportunities for Offshore Engineering Vessels

On one hand, there is an overcapacity of offshore support vessels (OSVs), while on the other hand, there is a large demand for research vessels from the country. How can these two markets be merged to achieve a win-win situation? The construction and technical performance of OSVs are highly compatible with the basic requirements of research vessels. Converting them into research vessels can save costs and construction time. This article, from the perspective of technology and demand, aims to provide some ideas for OSV owners and shipyards in the context of a sluggish offshore market.

Introduction

The global OSV market is still facing a serious oversupply problem. With persistently low market demand, the number of OSVs that have been idle for extended periods has reached a new high. As oil prices fall and demand for offshore research projects declines, the asset prices in the offshore industry have fallen to their lowest point in history. Many shipowners around the world have gone bankrupt, many offshore vessels have been canceled or delayed, and are stranded in shipyards. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that the United States currently has more than 250 oceanographic research vessels of various types, but China currently only has more than 40. China's future demand for oceanographic research vessels will be very large.

In recent years, China has been actively promoting the construction of oceanographic research equipment. Professor Wu Lixin, vice president of Ocean University of China, confirmed at the 2016 Oceanographic Research Vessel and Popular Vessel Project Opportunities Seminar that China will soon place orders for the construction of research vessels costing 5 billion RMB. Ge Xingguo, a consultant at the 702 Institute and the former chief designer of the Xiangyanghong research vessel at the 708 Institute, said in his speech at the seminar that not only research institutes and institutions in the national ocean system will place orders for the construction of multiple research vessels, but many universities, including those in Northwest China, are preparing to build research vessels. The layout and technical performance of newly built research vessels in recent years, including the Xiangyanghong No. 3 and the Jialing No. 1, are very close to those of OSVs. During the downturn in the offshore market, acquiring some undelivered newly built OSVs and converting them into research vessels can not only save funds but also reorganize offshore vessel resources and reduce resource waste.

1. Technical Requirements for Research Vessels

Oceanographic research vessels generally have various scientific investigation capabilities. Each capability corresponds to its own unique investigation methods, which requires the vessel platform to have sailing conditions that adapt to various investigation capabilities. According to the needs of its investigation capability positioning, scientific research vessels usually have the following specific technical requirements:

1. Dynamic Positioning Capability:

Oceanographic research vessels usually have the capability to conduct marine biological and marine geological surveys, requiring the deployment of underwater robots or seabed sampling devices such as piston samplers and box corers. These operations have certain requirements for the vessel's positioning capability and accuracy, which is the DP function. According to the requirements of different operational capabilities, the vessel can maintain a certain position or heading. During operations, it cannot deviate too far from the underwater instrument deployment location, otherwise it may easily lead to the loss of survey equipment. Therefore, oceanographic research vessels usually require dynamic positioning capability.

2. Flexible Operating Performance

Scientific research vessels usually carry various scientific instruments and equipment that need to be deployed at sea, and the vessel needs to be maneuvered to successfully recover them after the survey and sampling. Therefore, the vessel should have flexible maneuvering performance.

3. Speed and Sailing Performance:

Research vessels with marine geophysical survey systems and deep-sea environmental detection systems require good low-speed sailing performance. For example, seismic exploration, gas explosion measurement, and deep-sea towing operations are carried out at a speed of about 5 knots.

4. Redundancy of the Power Station:

Scientific research vessels are equipped with major systems of scientific research equipment. For various scientific research equipment to operate normally, the vessel needs to provide sufficient power to meet the requirements. Therefore, scientific research vessels require the power station to have a certain degree of redundancy.

5. Low Noise and Low Vibration Performance:

Scientific research vessels carry a large number of detection devices. The detection equipment has high requirements for the vessel's own noise. In order not to affect the measurement accuracy of the vessel's detection equipment, the scientific research vessel should minimize its own noise from aspects such as hull design, structural design, and the selection of low-vibration and low-noise equipment.