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Ampelmann partners with Seaqualize to develop S-type gangway

Technology

Ampelmann, the global leader in offshore access solutions, has partnered with Seaqualize, a Dutch marine motion technology innovator, to collaborate on the development of its latest S-type gangway

The new gangway solution has been designed to be fully integrated into large, high speed vessels and dedicated to long-term crew change operations.

“The S-type is designed to safely compensate the challenging motion characteristics of these vessels when in dynamic positioning (DP) alongside the platform. This is combined with a significant reduction in power requirement and weight of the gangway itself,” said Ampelmann.

According to the company, part of the solution comes from the balanced heave compensation technology of Seaqualize. “This patented technology engages the non-linear force of a gas spring to create an easily adjustable counterbalance, enabling balanced heave compensation. Numerical and scale models already tested have demonstrated the energy efficiency of luffing can be increased to more than 90 per cent,” Ampelmann noted.

Wiebe Jan Emsbroek, commercial manager crew change at Ampelmann, commented, “The crew change market requires a light-weight transfer system which enables a safer and more cost-effective alternative to other crew change methods, such as helicopters.”

“Integrating balanced heave compensation technology into the S-type will offer a huge energy saving of up to 50 per cent compared to our current gangways. It utilises electric actuators opposed to traditional hydraulics which results in reduced fuel consumption for the vessel and significant overall project savings.”

The production of the S-type is set to be started in early 2018. In total, the cost of operators using the system is expected to be around 30 per cent cheaper than helicopters.