Bourbon Offshore taking over French subsea research duo

Bourbon Offshore Surf has won a tender to supply and manage the crew and nautical activities of two deep-sea vessels owned by the French Department of Underwater Archaeological Research (DRASSM).

Bourbon Offshore

Bourbon will support DRASSM with risk management (QHSE), crew and technical management for the André Malraux and Alfred Merlin vessels.

The vessels share the same specificities as those of Bourbon Offshore Surf, including dynamic positioning, acoustics, subsea operations and lifting capacities, the company said.

The plan is to deploy digital tools that are expected to enable DRASSM to receive operational data to monitor the performance of its vessels in total transparency.

“We are very pleased to support the DRASSM and hope to establish a long-term partnership with this major player of underwater archaeology,” said Yannick BELEY, CEO of Bourbon Offshore Surf.

The crisis in the offshore sector has committed us to diversifying and offering new services with the same requirement for operational excellence that has made BOURBON a leader in the sector. We are thus deploying our strategy by offering a shipmanagement service on vessels that do not belong to BOURBON. This is a step further in our transition from shipowner to marine service provider.”