Luxury Superyachts and vessels operating offshore servicing the oil and gas industry may, at first glance, seem to have little in common with each other. But with an itinerary that is set to take in the Arctic the owners of the 75 metre Northern Star have chosen to draw inspiration from offshore oil and gas supply and servicing vessels
Northern Star, built by Lurssen Yachts in Germany under the supervision of Moran Yacht and Ship has been fitted with an extensive bridge navigation and manoeuvring systems similar to those in the offshore market.
From their position as a leading supplier of proven systems in that field Kongsberg Maritime was chosen to deliver systems for navigation, Dynamic Positioning and thrusters control aboard Northern Star. Within this, the scope-of-supply included: K-Bridge MULTI, a multi functional operator station for the bridge; K-Bridge conning display for efficient monitoring of all key information; K-Bridge operator and planning stations; steering functions; radio/GMDSS; cJoy operator terminal; K-Thrust thruster control system; bow thruster and pump jet.
With hull-mounted iron reinforcement for ice-breaking in the Arctic conditions the owner of Northern Star has planned an expedition that includes the re-tracing of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's route traversing the North-West passage off the coast of Canada, have been made possible.
"The owner of has a good understanding of ships, and has been personally involved in the whole decision making process," says, Craig Franks the yachts master. "He wanted to use the offshore market as a reference when choosing systems."
The yachts owner has a special interest in adventure travel and this means that she has been designed to sail anywhere in the world. Because of this, special features have been implemented, such as a large fuel range and extra insulation for extreme climates and cold water that have all been tried and tested aboard hundreds of offshore oil & gas vessels, proving their ability to withstand rigorous operation in the harshest environments.
Although all of the systems installed aboard the yacht are fit for operation of large offshore vessels that depend on reliable equipment for all conditions and climates, they had to be custom designed to ensure that the high aesthetic values of the interior design were upheld. The form factor of the systems was re-designed and novel solutions were needed to make the most of the space available.
"Combined with the emphasis on aesthetics, the lack of space aboard Northern Star was a challenge. We solved this partly by placing electronics in panels above the ceiling, and by redesigning our cabinets just for this installation," explains Roger Trinterud, Sales Manager, Kongsberg Maritime. "There are not many yachts of this type built every year, but about half of them have this equipment onboard. The fact that our systems are built for the toughest commercial operation and that we are able to tailor them to the size and aesthetics of luxury vessels is a large factor in our strong performance in this marketplace."
