Five Most Notable X-BOW Vessels

There is no denying that ULSTEIN’s X-BOW® hull design made a splash in the maritime and offshore world when it was introduced with the launching M/V Bourbon Orca in 2005. Since then, over 60 vessels have been built with the patented inverted bow design that is said to improve handling in rough seas and lower fuel consumption.

In fact, Ulstein’s X-BOW® hull design has made such an impact that it has been chosen as one of the eight best Norwegian innovations since 1980 by the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten.

With that in mind, here is a look at the top five vessels featuring the patented X-BOW® hull and if you’re impressed, vote for the X-BOW HERE. 

Top Five Most Notable X-BOW Vessels

1. Bourbon Orca, Type AX104

The first vessel to feature the X-BOW hull, the Bourbon Orca is an AHTS that was delivered to Bourbon Offshore Norway in 2006 and received a number of awards, including the Engineering Feat of the Year award from the Norwegian Design Council, and Offshore Support Journal’s and Skipsrevyen’s (otherwise known as SMM) prestigious “Ship of the Year” Awards.

In January 2007, the Bourbon Orca went out from the coast of Norway together with the supply boats Skandi Caledonia and Havila Faith. In head-to-head competition, here is what happened:

2. Bourbon Mistral, Type PX105

In January 2007, the Bourbon Mistral was delivered to Bourbon Offshore Norway and was the first platform supply vessel to feature the X-BOW.

3. Viking Poseidon, Type SX121

The Viking Poseidon is an Offshore Construction Vessel delivered to Eidesvik Offshore in 2008. The vessel, at 130 meters long by 25 meters wide, was the largest vessel to feature a X-BOW.

A year later, the M/V Island Constructor, also a type SX121, was nominated for the SMM “Ship of the Year” award.

4. Oceanic Vega, Type SX120

Delivered in 2010 to a joint venture between Eidesvik Offshore and the geophysical company, CGGVeritas, the Oceanic Vega was the first of two type SX120 seismic research vessels ordered by the JV.  Along with an ice-classed X-BOW hull, the vessel features a towing force of 140 tons during seismic operations and is ideally suited to acquisition of large 3D, 4D or high-resolution projects, utilizing a current streamer configuration of up 16 streamers separated by 100 meters or more. The vessel´s 20 streamer winches are each capable of spooling 9 kilometers of streamers.

In 2010, the M/V Oceanic Vega was nominated for SMM’s “Ship of the Year” award.

5. Seven Viking, Type  SX148

The Seven Viking is a subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) vessel co-owned by Eidesvik Offshore and Subsea 7. Right now the vessel is perhaps more speculation than all the others, as it was just launched on October 17th, but it is added to the list for good reason.

The compact vessel, measuring 106.5 meters long by 24.5 meters wide vessel, will carry out a multitude of diverse tasks for Statoil, including inspection, maintenance and repair of subsea oil installations, alongside scale treatment and RFO operations. The ship has a crew capacity of 90, a top speed of 16 knots, and has the capacity to carry a number essential subsea tools thanks to a clever hull configuration. The Seven Viking has been developed to meet the highest working environmental standards; meeting comfort class COMF-V (3) for low noise and vibration levels and carries the Clean Design notation. The vessel also features diesel electric propulsion and electrical winches.

If you’re impressed, then don’t forget to VOTE!