MCS is a marine vessel owner/operator based on the Clyde. The company has significant experience in the operation of offshore energy support vessels and is in the process of procuring a SWATH vessel for this purpose.
The SWATH (Small Water Plane Area Twin Hull) is designed to perform well in rough sea conditions, for example enabling wind turbine access in greater wave heights than other vessels.
The ETP provided funding for a team of academics from the University of Strathclyde (Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering department, NAOME) to carry out a study of the new MCS vessel, analysing its performance in expected sea conditions and assessing the relative benefits of the vessel type over other MCS craft.
This work allows MCS to gain confidence in the operation capabilities of the new vessel and plan future marine energy market positioning. In turn, NAOME has continued to build its modelling capability, including the use of the NEWDRIFT software for seakeeping and wave induced loads analysis of ships and arbitrarily shaped floating structures.