Significant savings with automated power management system and hybrid energy storage

Contract compliance and HES integration with upgraded Delomatic 4 power management system

To ensure continued compliance with customer contracts, Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik upgraded the Delomatic 4 Power management System (PMS) on the IMR vessel Seven Viking to handle a new onboard HES (Hybrid Energy Storage) system. Eidesvik are set to achieve significant fuel and genset running hour reductions, and the crews are happy with the solution.

When one of your biggest customers changes the terms of your contract, you need to ensure continued compliance if you want to keep that customer. This was exactly what happened to Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik in 2018. In order to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions from its offshore activities, oil company Equinor introduced a requirement that vendor IMRs must have an onboard HES (Hybrid Energy Storage) system in order to qualify for a particular Frame Contract. 

Accordingly, i-Tech 7, Subsea 7’s Life of Field business unit and Eidesvik needed to upgrade the Seven Viking, an IMR vessel operating in the North Sea. “It was a requirement in the customer contract that the ship had to have a hybrid power source on board”, says Alf Magne Simonsen, Project Manager at Eidesvik.

Headquartered in Langevåg, Norway, Eidesvik owns and operates ships within the business areas Supply, Seismic, Offshore Wind and Subsea, primarily on the Norwegian continental shelf. Eidesvik owns and operates 22 vessels; the Seven Viking is currently chartered to i-Tech 7, for carrying out subsea life of field operations. Both companies deliver services to Equinor and cooperated on bringing the Seven Viking in line with the updated contract terms.

Without the know-how required, crews will not be able to take full advantage of the features offered by advanced systems such as the upgraded Delomatic 4, and they will not be able to reap the financial and environmental benefits the system can deliver. When DEIF delivered, installed, and commissioned the Delomatic 4 upgrade, training of key crew members was therefore a very important part of the package.

Equally importantly, the people who use the system every day are satisfied. “The crew is happy with the solution. As they become familiar and gain confidence in the upgraded system, operational savings will improve even more,” says Alf Magne Simonsen. He is happy with the way the project was carried out, and with the expertise of the DEIF team delivering the upgrade.

“It has been a pleasure working with DEIF, and we now have a well-functioning solution for a complex installation thanks also to the competent project team from DEIF,” he concludes.

With the upgraded Delomatic 4 on board, the Seven Viking is making a significant contribution to a brighter future for shipping – and in general - with reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions; in line with Equinor contract terms – and for the benefit of the climate.