• MSY NEW BUILD 686 ‘CRYSTAL SEA’ – PRESS RELEASE

Macduff Shipyards Limited have recently delivered their latest new build, ‘CRYSTAL SEA SS 118’, to owner David Steven and his two sons David and Alec. This new build replaces their previous fishing vessel of the same name, which was built by the yard in 2008, and is intended to fish off the southern coast of England targeting a wide range of catch.

‘CRYSAL SEA’ is a new design developed in cooperation between Macduff Shipyards and local design firm Macduff Ship Design.  The hull is a development from previous models with particular attention paid to reducing hull resistance and therefore improving fuel efficiency and running speed. CFD technology was used at the first stage to measure the resistance of the new hull against the previous design and to identify areas where further improvements could be made. Following this the hull was then faired by Macduff Ship Design who then used the virtual model to produce a detailed set of kit construction plans and assess the stability. The kit was then cut in house by Macduff Profilers, a division of the yard, and the vessel was fabricated, engineered and fully fit out in the yards main building hall at Macduff before carrying out sea trials in the Moray Firth.

The hull of CRYSTAL SEA is built completely from steel, apart from the wheelhouse and masts, and features a double chine hull form, transom stern and soft nose bulbous bow which is faired gently into the main hull body. The layout of the CRYSTAL SEA is largely like some of the other recent new builds produced by the yard. Below deck features the cabins, engine room, fish hold and a large freshwater tank forward of the collision bulkhead. Above the deck is situated the aft shelter, galley/mess and side passage area, fish processing area and then a winch room forward where three split winches are sited.

A unique deck machinery package was fabricated by the yard for the CRYSTAL SEA comprising of three split winches, two split net drums, two split sweep winches, two small gear handling winches and a dedicated anchor windlass. The hydraulic system was also designed and installed by the yard. A pull master Gilson winch was supplied by MacGregor Ltd along with the fishing crane and landing crane. Main hydraulic power is provided by a dedicated engine which is a Caterpillar C12 engine rated at 385 hp at 1800 rpm. Secondary hydraulic power is provided by two electric motors each with an output of 45 kw.

The propulsion package is based on a setup which has become quite common in the yards recent new builds and features a Caterpillar C32 main engine rated at 660 hp @ 1800 rpm coupled to a Masson Marine gearbox with a reduction ratio of 9.077:1. This drives a 2500 mm diameter propeller fitted within a nozzle, both of which were supplied by Wartsila. The remaining stern gear elements were designed and manufactured by Macduff Engineering, a division of the yard, on CNC operated machines. This is the fifth propulsion system of this design to be fitted by the yard and has been noted to perform very well, operating smoothly and quietly and taking advantage of the C32 engines flexibility which can help to extract full power whilst both steaming and trawling.

Two Beta Marine generators are fitted that are based on a Cummins 6BT5.9D2(M) engine with Mecc Alte alternators and each output a total of 81.6 kW of electrical power. The electrical system on board was designed and installed by R D Downie of Fraserburgh who installed the system to their usual high standard and built the switchboards in house.

• Completion of 2 x 14m Workboats by Cheoy Lee Shipyard

In late 2017 Macduff Ship Design was commissioned by Cheoy Lee shipyards to produce a new design to fit into their existing vessel range.  The design brief was for a small workboat with capacity for simple modification so that it could be tailored to specific owner requirements.  The first two vessels have now been completed as stock vessels and following successful sea trials are now available for sale.

The design for the first vessels is kept simple, allowing for them to complete multiple roles as a general workboat within many industries.  The conventional layout with a forward wheelhouse and large open deck is complemented with the fitting of a tow post and 10 T SWL tow hook.

The design was however completed to allow for future vessels to have significant variation.  The main optional changes that can be incorporated are the potential of an addition focsle deck to give higher forward freeboard and improved below deck accommodation, and the option to lengthen the vessel mid-ships to suit owner requirement. The design also allows for the addition of winches or a crane to be fitted to any of the designs.

The vessel is built with twin propellers supplied by Kort propulsion.  They are driven by Caterpillar C9.3 main engines rated at 416 HP @ 2100 rpm, coupled to 2 x Twin Disc MGX5114 gearboxes driving the two 1250mm propellers which are fitted in Kort nozzles to give an improved bollard pull.  On trials the vessels achieved an impressive 10T Bollard Pull and also 10.2 knots.

Macduff Ship Design will be attending as exhibitors the Aquaculture Uk, 19-21 May 202, Aviemore. We look forward to meeting existing and prospective clients at our first time visiting the show. Feel free to drop in and meet us at stand 239.

The 21.00m Landing Craft ‘Helen Rice’ built for Inverlussa Marine Services has been launched, Macduff has carried out an incline test and the vessel is due to start her trials in the coming week, she is expected to perform well. The vessel designed with a deck layout for mooring work is also capable of carrying 90T of deck cargo with a capacity for 3x 20ft containers and is suited to carry out general fish farm service duties.

The 19.00m Pilot Vessels being built by Colombo Dockyard has had a first delivery of two vessels to their owners the Colombo Port Authority who will operate the vessels at the Port of Colombo to transport pilots from shore to ship. The vessels achieved a service speed of 22 knots and performed well during trials and have been designed to give a high degree of stability even in adverse weather conditions. Macduff and Colombo Dockyard are pleased the vessels have been handed over successfully and look forward to future collaboration.

To see further information on the delivery follow the link to the Colombo Dockyard website.