SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Ulstein’s innovative hull design for more fuel-efficient vessels
- Published 30 June 2022; updated 30 September 2026; estimated reading time 3 minutes. Marked available; listed under Maritime / Ship design and ship’s equipment, Offshore wind / Operation and maintenance, and Energy.
- Ulstein’s X-BOW and X-STERN hull lines are designed to improve vessel operability and crew comfort while reducing wave-making resistance, fuel consumption and emissions. X-BOW, launched in 2005, slopes backward instead of forward; the company says it reduces wave noise/vibration, improves speed and fuel use in high seas, and has been used on over 100 vessels, including offshore vessels, SOVs and expedition cruise ships.
- X-STERN, introduced in 2015, adapts the design to the vessel’s stern. The article says offshore-wind SOVs operate stern-first about 70% of the time; X-STERN is intended to reduce wave slamming in that configuration and improve operational flexibility, power use, crew safety and rest.
- Tank tests are reported to show X-BOW reduces propulsion power demand by 6–8%. The page also says X-BOW can increase cargo capacity by 4–10% compared with conventional bows of equal dimensions. These are company-reported test/design figures; the article gives no independent results for X-STERN savings.
- Linked to SDGs 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure). The USD 1 trillion offshore-wind market by 2040 figure is a cited forecast.
- Contact: Runar Muren, Managing Director, runar.muren@ulstein.com. Company: ULSTEIN DESIGN & SOLUTIONS AS, Osnesvegen 110, 6065 Ulsteinvik, Norway; ulstein.com. A phone-number reveal control is present.