New jewel in Bibby’s crown offshore

Bibby Offshore has added a new high specification dive support vessel to its fleet, Bibby Sapphire, the first example of the lengthened ST253 design from Skipsteknisk

Bibby Offshore is recently business unit of Bibby Line Ltd, and in a relatively short time has created a dynamic profile in the highly competitive arena of offshore oil and gas contracting. The company has a significant track record in floating and mobile production services with the operation of the self-elevating mobile offshore production unit DMS Venture, the BHP offshore storage installation and the Chevron Alba floating storage unit (FSU). A new partnership with Alliance Marine Services in Houston in the US has been concluded and the two companies are marketing FPSO, FSU and mobile production management, operation and maintenance services worldwide.

Bibby Offshore offers jack-up accommodation services through ownership of Bibby Marinia and Trident Bibby One, two vessels presently enjoying excellent utilisation through the company’s Arabian Gulf-based clients. The dive support vessel (DSV) Bibby Aquamarine has achieved excellent performance in the provision of diving and ROV services, being complemented since August by the addition to the company’s fleet of the DSV Bibby Sapphire, on time charter from Volstad Offshore, which will allow Bibby Offshore to offer an enhanced capability to clients in the North Sea and elsewhere.

Having entered service in August, this first example of the Skipsteknisk-designed ST253L concept entered the subsea construction market, initially as a construction support vessel, but will later be converted into full saturation diving support mode with availability scheduled for early 2006.

Built in Norway at Aker Langsten shipyard, the vessel is managed by Volstad and Meridian Marine Management, Bibby’s ship management subsidiary, having been chartered from owner Volstad Maritime in Norway. Volstad is a privately owned Norwegian company that owns and operates vessels in the international fisheries and seismic exploration sectors. With its head office in the Norwegian northwest at Aalesund, Volstad Maritime built its first vessel in 1952, and has evolved into an international operation with activities that now encompass purpose-built offshore vessels, its activity in the seismic sector taking the form of long-term charters on its vessels from WesternGeco.

The outline specification for the new DSV, which is now the most modern – and probably the most capable – DSV available in the North Sea region, includes a 150-tonne heave-compensated crane, 850m² of working deck space, a 15-man saturation dive spread, accommodation for up to 197, a helideck for Super Puma helicopter or similar, and fire-fighting capability.

The 94m-long vessel is fitted with a DP class 2 dynamic positioning system, has a transit speed of 15 knots, and is designed to be capable of working in both harsh environments and supporting diver-less construction operations in deepwater locations globally.

An extended version of Skipsteknisk’s ST253, the first example of which entered service not long ago with Ostensjo in Norway, the ST253L benefits from diesel-electric propulsion, and a 10 tonne/20m handling crane which complements the active heave-compensated main crane.

The diesel-electric machinery takes the form of a pair of 1,530kW gensets and a pair of 2,880kW Wärtsilä gensets, providing electrical power for a pair of 2,500kW main azimuthing thrusters, and a 2,000kW retractable azimuthing thruster and a 2,000kW tunnel in bow. The vessel is also fitted with a retractable 2,000kW azimuthing thruster in the aft part of the vessel to further enhance manoeuvrability.

The ship has a moonpool of 7.2m x 7.2m and a full size ROV hangar with hydraulically operated launching system incorporated into the superstructure. Forward of the superstructure is the fully integrated helicopter deck.

During the winter Bibby Offshore will install a twin bell 15-man diving system with a depth capability of 300m and it will be available to the market from the first quarter 2006. The system can be increased to support 18 divers by increasing the hyperbaric lifeboat capacity.

Bibby Offshore notes that Bibby Aquamarine is currently enjoying a very busy year and the arrival of Bibby Sapphire is a further step in the strategic development of the company to meet the growing demands of its clients. OSJ