Fugro has taken delivery of a new 3-D seismic ship, Geo Barents, which is noteworthy for being the most advanced – and largest – ever constructed by Solstrand Shipyard, a builder known best for its fishing vessels and trawlers but which over the last two years has diversified into offshore designs
Geo Barents is a?3-D seismic acquisition vessel capable of deploying six streamers of up to 9km in length. The vessel has an overall length of 76.95m, and is being chartered by Fugro from owner Uksnøy Barents KS, which has signed an agreement to sell the vessel to Fugro in three years time.
“This ship is the most advanced that Solstrand has ever built,” Arne K Tennøy, managing director of Solstrand, told OSJ at the Nor-Shipping conference and exhibition held in Norway during June. “Geo Barents is not only the largest built by our shipyard but also the first for the offshore industry. It was a demanding and interesting project. I believe that our employees deserve special credit for the exceptional work they did. We have many reasons to be proud.”
Interestingly, although a newbuild and not a conversion, the hull is?that of a?trawler built by Noryard AS at Braila in Romania. It was towed to Norway in late spring 2006 and then extended, enabling the vessel to accommodate a crew of 49. Geo Barents was christened in Norway on April 29.
“The ship is extremely well built. It is a good and compact ship. People were competent and the quality of the workmanship is excellent,” said Fugro party chief Keith Longhurst at a ceremony to mark the handover. David Thomas, mechanical field engineer with Fugro, claimed that workmanship at the yard “is the best that I have seen.”
Geo Barents also has a 240m2 cable repair facility and an aluminium helicopter deck with direct access to a sickbay. The bridge is noteworthy for the excellent visibility it affords.
In a speech to mark the occasion, Hans Meyer, managing director of Fugro, said Geo Barents would be working in the Gulf of Mexico for the next 18 months at last.
The ship will deploy Sercel Seal-type oil filled streamers and is fitted with a Sodera G gun, complemented by a Sercel Seal 24-bit digital system with Argus data recording and online quality control. Processing is handled by FSI Uniseis and Paradigm Focus software and SGI Origin series equipment.
The ship’s primary navigation system comprises a Fugro Starfix HP DGPS, complemented by a Fugro Skyfix XP DGPS secondary navigation system, with Seatrack 220 RGPS tailbuoy tracking, a Seatrack 320 RGPS for gun array tracking and a Concept Systems online navigation system.
Designed by Kverndokk & Eldoy, the 76.95m vessel has a beam of 17m, and depth to main deck of 6.00m. She has accommodation for 50, and bears the class notation DNV + SF, E0 HELDK, SH, COMF-V (3). Propulsion is provided by two 2,650kW ABC main engines supplied by Frydenbø Power, complemented by a quartet of Cummins KTA 50 D engines, which drive alternators to provide electrical power.
The ship’s CP propeller is driven via a Finnøy Gear 20110/70 twin input/single output gearbox, and manoeuvring is enhanced by a Brunvoll retractable, azimuthing bow thruster. The deck crane is a KDE140 unit rated at 8 tonnes at 18m, and was supplied by ABAS.
Paul van Riel, director for development and production at Fugro, underlined the importance of Geo Barents for the company, which currently has several other seismic vessels on order. Others include Geo Celtic, Fugro’s new 3-d/4-D flagship, which will be chartered from Forland Shipping.
Geo Celtic’s hull was launched at the Gdansk Shipyard in Poland in January, and subsequently handed over to Bergen Yards BMV for fitting out in Bergen and installation of her seismic survey equipment and instrumentation. Delivery to Fugro-Geoteam, part of the Fugro group, is scheduled for late summer. The vessel is expected to be in operation before the end of this year and will be capable of simultaneously deploying 12 seismic streamers up to 8,000m in length. OSJ
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