North Sea Ventilation

Noise attenuation one hundred metres above sea level in the middle of an Ocean is an area that does not come up very often, yet when it does specialist skills are required.

North Sea Ventilation, suppliers of exhaust fans for ocean vessels, came to VAC for expert advice when they were asked to supply a fan for an oil exploration vessel based off the coast of Nigeria.

The hostile environment meant that VAC had to utilise all their production expertise to ensure that the finished project was fully capable of surviving the conditions. The exhaust fan itself was mounted 100 metres above the deck of the ship and needed to be attenuated to provide acoustic comfort to the complete vessel.

Four attenuators were required for the project, two mounted at each side of the fan with all the units requiring special treatment for the saline conditions. The fan itself was mounted on 8 A/V mounts, designed and manufactured by VAC, to take out the roll of the ship. Each mount was made in bronze to ensure that the anti corrosion specification was complied with and capable of taking 8.5 tonnes in weight.

The overall project is a good example of VAC, and Mansfield Pollards total solution. The company acted as consultant, designer and contractor, making this a true design and build project.