Workboat styling over the last few years has become more luxurious as crew comfort has received increased prominence but the focus has often been on the interior. PRM Offshore in Singapore is claiming to go beyond that by focusing on their workboats’ exterior appearance as well and is using that as a marketing differentiator. Just before Christmas, Dr. Oskar Lee of ARL Asia sent us photos and information related to PRM Offshore’s latest 81m Anchor Handling Tugs and Offshore Support Vessels (AHTs/OSVs).
After looking at the photos and skimming through some of PRM’s marketing literature, we were struck with how visually compelling their vessels were so we Tweeted about them and put a couple of photos on our Flickr page for photo sharing.
What we didn’t realize until we read more detail was just how much PRM Offshore is emphasizing their workboats’ visual appeal.
Here’s a quote from Rony Sudjaka, Chairman and Managing Director of Pacific Richfield Marine (owner of PRM Offshore shipyard):
“Look at this: my supply boat looks more like a cruise vessel than an OSV-the winch, the anchor windlass, all the towing equipment is enclosed, safe and easy to maintain. The big window in the wheelhouse gives the captain full visibility. I compete with the best vessels worldwide, even on cosmetics…It’s 100-percent beautiful, but beautiful with a purpose.”
He then goes on to draw attention to the absence of used rubber tires hanging over the side. For fenders, instead, these PRM hulls use an array of lozenge-shaped rubber bumpers that are held by stainless steel bolts in special recesses. This makes them stand apart visually from the rest of the world fleet, and he says, actually will last longer than old tires and even perform better.
Another quote:
“OSVs normally use old tires for fenders which hang off the side by a chain. That chain sometimes drops off and causes problems, like fouling the propeller. My bumpers stay in place, give better protection, and are easy to change. They are also expensive, but worth it.”
Oskar Lee and his wife Elaine were invited to attend the naming ceremony for the three latest 81m AHT/OSVs since ShipConstructor software was used during the production design of the ships. The naming ceremony was to celebrate a major chartering contract which will send the three workboats into oil fields in Asia Pacific.
And Oskar caught something that non-Chinese speakers probably would miss: the names of the latest vessels have a special significance. Oskar says there is a reason why the most recent workboats are called, “Pacific 3, Pacific 33 and Pacific 333”. The number “3” rhymes with “life” or “lively” so that is good luck.
If you check out our SSI Flickr page, you’ll see Oskar standing beside one of these “beautiful and lucky” workboats, plus a photo of an earlier Pacific Richfield project (Pacific Jumbo).