INTRODUCING A NEW BOW
At the beginning of the new millennium, ULSTEIN started a design
innovation project challenging traditional solutions and conventions.
Drawing on decades of ship design experience, a new bow concept
slowly emerged on paper. By introducing a larger and smoother
volume distribution in the foreship, which allows for submersion,
combined with a sharper bow shape, the typical challenges of
conventional bow shapes were solved. Preliminary sketches of a
vessel with the new, backward-sloping bow were presented in a
company magazine.
VISION POSSIBLE
Bourbon Offshore Norway believed in the new bow concept and worked
closely with ULSTEIN on the development of the first vessel design
with the X-BOW® hull line design - an anchor handling tug supply vessel
(AHTS) of the AX104 type - launched in 2005. The first vessel of this
type, Bourbon Orca, was delivered in 2006 and received a number
of awards, including the Norwegian Design Council’s design award,
the Engineering Feat of the Year, and Offshore Support Journal’s and
Skipsrevyen’s “Ship of the Year” Awards. Other vessel designs with the
X-BOW® hull line design have since received similar distinctions.
FROM VISION TO WORLDWIDE REALITY
Since the new bow concept was first launched, it has been in
demand, and today over 40 ULSTEIN vessels with the X-BOW® hull
line design have been delivered or are under construction worldwide.
The first X-BOW® designs were for AHTS and platform supply
vessels, but it has later been introduced on construction, rescue,
and seismic vessels, as well as into the heavy offshore and short-sea
shipping segments.