Solar Solve Marine, the British manufacturer of the SOLASOLV® brand of anti-glare, heat rejecting roller screens for navigation bridge windows has received an order for the Topaz Zenith.
The catamaran vessel, which is chartered by RAK Petroleum, is the first Topaz Wave Piercer for use in the Gulf. Designed by Incat Holding Limited of Australia and built by Topaz Marine based in Dubai, the long-term charter vessel will be used by production crews commuting to and from the company’s offshore Oman platforms.
The aluminium hulled vessel which has been designed to be fast, stable and fuel-efficient will significantly reduce transportation times and operating costs. Powered using water jet engines the vessel is the first of its kind to service offshore oil and gas platforms.
Topaz Zenith was delivered in April 2011 and is 24 metres long with the ability to transport up to 40 crew members. It will travel at a speed of 35 knots which is sufficient enough to allow RAK Petroleum to make two platform visits a day which is double what the company had been able to make in the past. The fuel consumption at 32 knots in this new vessel will be the same as a screw-driven vessel steaming at 20 knots.
An order for 2 SOLASAFE® roller screens was received by Solar Solve in June 2011 for delivery to the United Arab Emirates. The screens will protect the bridge crew against the effects of sun glare and solar gain, whilst offering a 100% clear outside view for safer navigation. The advanced film used in the roller screens is tinted which significantly reduces eye-strain ensuring the equipment displays are easier to read, so human errors are less likely to occur. The aluminium layer embedded inside the film rejects heat to reduce fatigue by creating a more comfortable and cooler working environment for crew. Less demand is also placed on bridge air-conditioning systems which require additional fuel consumption to run so environmentally conscious fleet owners like RAK Petroleum can benefit from fuel savings while lowering their CO₂ emissions by installing SOLASOLV® roller screens at the vessel’s bridge windows.
Solar Solve’s Sales and Marketing Executive, Paul Hopkins commented, “This is another first-of-its-kind vessel so we are obviously delighted that they have chosen to install SOLASOLV® sunscreens. We have a long standing business relationship with both Topaz Marine and Incat who are both well aware of our products and their immense benefit to crews who navigate a vessel.”
