Chinese group names first high-end OSV

Described by the yard as China’s “first fabricated model of OSV”, the GPA696 ship was named Ungundja, and a sea trials event was held for another OSV, to the SX130 design. Sinopacific says that the successful production of its global first fabricated high-end OSVs such as the GPA696 and the SX130 by the Zhejiang Shipyard marks its entry into the ranks of manufacturers of top-grade OSVs. The group now claims the technical capability to build deep-water OSVs.

The new ships were built and equipped to current European and North American standards, the GPA696 being designed by GPA of the USA, with an all-electric propulsion system and DP3 capabilities. The SX130 was designed by Ulstein of Norway, featuring the X-bow, the first to be built in China.

Sinopacific claims to be the largest OSV manufacturer, with a one-third global market share, and it expects to improve this, having demonstrated that it can successfully build specialised ships to high-end designs. The yard has its own design department, which says it can optimise foreign designs as well as produce its own, having developed four in-house OSV designs, for which it has received a number of orders.