Shuttle tanker starts multi-purpose role

Navion Britannia is a sophisticated multi-purpose shuttle tanker the design of which emphasises safety, environmentally operations, and enhanced manoeuvrability in rough weather.

Delivered in April by Astilleros Espanoles (AESA) Sestao yard to Navion, the joint venture between Statoil and Rasmussen, Navion Britannia is the first of what will eventually be a class of five new shuttle tankers for service in the North Sea in the Norwegian and UK sectors.

Three of the class are being built by AESA`s Sestao yard, with two more booked with the company`s Puerto Real yard, both of which have an established track record in the construction of vessels for the offshore sector. On completion of the new construction programme in the autumn of 1999, the newbuildings will bring to 21 the number of shuttle tankers operated by the joint venture.

The 126,650dwt vessel is a twin skeg, twin screw shuttle tanker driven by twin low-speed diesel engines in separate engine rooms. Specially designed to meet the requirements of a dedicated shuttle tanker for offshore loading from storage facilities at a field or directly from production platforms and loading buoys, Navion Britannia is an ocean-going, double-hulled design with a double side and double bottom, bow loading system on the forecastle, and sophisticated dynamic positioning capabilities.