Marine Log - July 2008 - (Page G14)

GULF COAST HEADLINER development, Electronic Power Design, Inc. (EPD), “is much more versatile than conventional diesel. In a conventional diesel application, the engines are usually mid-ship with long shafts running back. Where as in a diesel-electric application, you have more flexibility on engine location, and instead of long shafts, you have cables running back to the motors. You open up a great deal of internal cargo space in the vessel. In addition,” adds Norwood, “you can run your engines more efficiently and burn less fuel.” Electrical systems integrator EPD, based in Houston, Tex., which is marking its 20th anniversary this year, has extensive experience in marine, drilling, propulsion and power/control systems. One of the innovations of the Rigdon An Engine Control Room (ECR) Module being installed onboard a Rigdon platform supply vessel at Bollinger Shipyards platform supply vessels is their engine control rooms. “Larry wanted to provide owner furnished equipment,” says Norwood. “We built an engine control room module that was mounted on beams. The house is completely wired out and tested in the factory. Once its at the shipyard, the engine control room (ECR) module is lowered onboard the vessel and connected from the outside. This makes installation faster and protects the sensitive electronics inside from damage.” Adds Norwood, “It cuts down on vessel commissioning time in the shipyard and you avoid the hazards of sandblasting, painting in the engine room and other possible causes of damage to the equipment.” EPD has partnered with Bourbon CEO Jacques de Chateauvieux to set up a factory in China to support Bourbon’s extensive newbuilding program—some 90 vessels of three different designs. Ten of the newbuilds are intervention, maintenance and repair (IMR) vessels based on Guido Perla’s new DP3 GPA 696 design. The IMR’s are 100m x 21m. The DP3 vessels will each have two EPD “plug and play” engine control rooms installed. The Bourbon work at the Zhejiang Shipyard is expected to help grow EPD’s China facility from its current 130 employees to some 200. Before the announcement of the merger, Rigdon Marine was considering building two similar-sized DP3 platform support vessels to Bourbon’s IMR newbuilds. While there are no assurances that they will ever be built, there will be at least one GulfMark board member that will favor of their construction. ML G14 MARINE LOG JULY 2008 www.marinelog.com http://www.bollingershipyards.com http://www.bollingershipyards.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - July 2008

Marine Log - July 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Coastal Shipping Communications Paints & Coatings WISTA’s Jeanne Grasso Showcase Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Tech Talk Gulf Coast Headliner

Marine Log - July 2008

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