The announcement that Reach Remote 1 had been named “Ship of the Year 2024” made Trosvik employees proud and happy. Of course, the award had to be celebrated with a “Champagne bowl” on board the unique boat in the bay of Trosvik!
SMM in Hamburg is one of the world’s largest maritime fairs. This year’s fair was held from 3 to 6 September with exhibitors from all over the world. It has become a tradition that Skipsrevyen’s “Ship of The Year” prize is awarded on the first day of the fair. And this year it was the Reach Remote 1 that ran away with the prize. Reach Remote 1 and its sister ship Reach Remote 2 are the first two boats in the Reach Remote fleet. Trosvik builds, equips and tests the boats, while Kongsberg Maritime is Trosvik’s client and is behind the technology, design and engineering. Reach Subsea is the end customer.
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Enormous significance for Trosvik
CEO of Trosvik, Jan Brønsten, believes that this recognition will be of great importance to the Trosvik group in the future.
– No doubt that this prestigious award, and – above all – this unique and innovative boat project, in the long term can contribute to increased shipbuilding and activity in Trosvik. Reach Remote 1, is the first new build since the start-up of the “new” Trosvik in 2020. That the boat, on top of it all, is named “Ship of The Year 2024”, is simply fantastic. This is incredible fun and a great motivation to perform in the future for all of us who work here in Trosvik, says Jan Brønsten.
Unique boats with an impressive technology package
The Reach Remote boats are so-called USVs (Unmanned Service Vessel). In the center of the boats, in what is called a “moonpool”, there is a remote-controlled mini-submarine ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) that can be lowered into the sea and remotely controlled to the inspection object, says Trosvik’s project manager for the Reach Remote project, Geir Sæther.
Advanced vessels: The Reach Remote boats are so-called USVs (Unmanned Surface Vessels) – unmanned inspection vessels – which are packed with advanced technology. Here from the launch of Reache Remote 1 – “Ship of The Year 20024”.
– During operations for clients, the boats will be completely unmanned. Both USV and ROV will be controlled remotely from a communications center in Horten in the Southern Norway. During testing and trial runs of the boats here at Trosvik, this will be done from a companion boat. We are not allowed to have people on board during the sea trial, but the manned escort boat will follow the boat until it is finally approved, says Sæther.
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Will significantly reduce the environmental footprint.
The Reach Remote boats are also hybrids, i.e., they have a diesel-electric generator on board that produces electricity. In addition, there is a battery pack on board for “peak shaving” – i.e., take the peaks of electricity consumption on board.
– The environmental footprint from these boats is therefore something completely different from the conventional alternatives available today. The client, Kongsberg Maritime, believes that the emission reduction will be as much as 90%. So, it is no exaggeration to say that this is a real sustainability project, says Sæther.
Important technological innovation for shelf operators.
These boats will be contracted by companies such as Equinor and other companies on the shelf, both within oil, gas, and renewable energy. The boats we will be used to carry out inspections on the seabed. It can e.g., be to inspect subsea installations, gas pipelines, anchoring systems for rigs or cables that are run along the seabed in offshore wind farms.
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Ready to build more Reach Remote boats.
The construction of the first two boats in the Reach Remote fleet has given Trosvik invaluable experience and expertise in the construction of this type of advanced inspection ship, Sæther believes.
– The Reach Remote vessels are quite small, only approx. 24 meters long and 8 meters wide. And it is easy to think that it is easier to build small ships than large ones. It is not necessarily so. Because it is very compact and cramped on board. On a “normal” ship, we are used to having quite a lot of space. It is significantly more challenging on such small and compact vessels as this. Especially when it is packed with high-tech equipment such as on the Reach Remote boats. Everything must be planned very carefully and done in the right order in order to get all the equipment in place in a sensible way. The construction of the first “prototype” has therefore given us a lot of valuable knowledge and experience which means that we are now building boat number two more efficiently and can contribute with more improvements and more optimal solutions on board, says Geir.
Provides market effect.
Kongsberg Maritime and Reach Subsea’s Reach Remote project has already received a lot of attention and mention in maritime journals at home and abroad. Trosvik notices that too.
– Without a doubt! The Reach Remote project has already given us a lot of attention and generated interest in our shipyard activity and from interesting suppliers of equipment and services, says Trosvik CEO Jan Brønsten.
– It will therefore help to strengthen our position within the maritime sector, both upstream and downstream. We really believe that this project will be able to speed up our entire maritime business, both in terms of new builds, conversions, maintenance, and ship service. We have both expertise, capacity, and the shipyard facilities, assures Jan Brønsten.
