Tulpar
Ulstein Verft built the combined icebreaker, supply vessel, and standby vessel for very shallow waters in 10 months in 2002 for BUE Marine. The shipowner chose Ulstein Verft because no other yard had the competence to build such an advanced ship within their very tight time schedule.
Primary specifications as built
Additional Data
Ship history
'Tulpar' has a draught of just 2.5 m and can take on a deck load of 500 tonnes. It is supplied with four independent thrusters for manoeuvering in ice.
It was very important that the 'Tulpar' be delivered on 16 September 2002 and not one day later. The vessel needed to commence her journey from the northwest coast of Norway to the Caspian Sea via rivers and channels from St Petersburg before the rivers started to freeze. The vessel was delivered two days before schedule, on 14 September 2002.
Being 21 m wide, the vessel could not be transported to the Caspian Sea, as the channels are only 16 m wide. The solution was to mount the side sections and bridge wings after the vessel arrived in Astrakhan, supervised by a site team from Ulstein Verft.
Managing director Carl Rolaston at BUE Marine Limited emailed Ulstein Verft after delivery, honouring the yard for a "fantastic and high-standard vessel that was delivered on an impossible schedule."
2017: Still active - IMO 9263083. The owner is BUE Marine, Edinburgh, UK. Managed by BUE Kazakhstan, Aktau, Kazakhstan. Flag: Aktau, Kazahstan