Marine specialist Wartsila is working on a newly awarded design contract for an Arctic platform supply vessel, with a new unit to be delivered to offshore group Tidewater Inc.

This is the second design contract the company has won for its new Arctic PSV series. Both the hull and the propulsion system for the ship type are to be designed to meet Arctic operating requirements under DNV ice class ICE 1A as part of the new series of multi-purpose PSVs to be designed by Wartsila for Tidewater.

The first of the vessels, designated VS 4530 MPSV, is being built by the Tersan Shipyard in Turkey and will be operated by Norway’s Offshore Supply Group based in Troms, Norway.

Design engineers at Wartsila have been asked to come up with a compact ship design with a maximum dead-weight capacity to provide maximum cargo capacity as one of the key elements of the new series for Tidewater.

Three Wartsila type 26 eight-cylinder in-line main engines will be fitted to the hull, along with propulsion systems comprising two main Azimuth thrusters, tunnel thrusters and retractable thrusters, a ballast water management system, and inert gas generators. The unit is due for delivery in 2016.