Royal IHC, Dräger forge Diving Support Vessels partnership at OTC 2015

Dutch Royal IHC and German Dräger have joined forces to offer the market a single source for fully integrated Diving Support Vessels.

As revealed at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston today, the initial focus will lie on the market segment of vessels with automated, 18-person, twin bell saturation diving systems.

According to Royal IHC, the deal will minimize commercial risk and complexity for the DSV customer by offering a single contract where the partners operate as one entity towards the customer.

Providing a rationale for the partnership Henk Cornegé, Senior Business Development Manager, Royal IHC said: “We have done a market study that shows that demand in DSVs will significantly increase in the next years. We expect demand to rise in Southeast Asia, West Africa, Brazil, but there are also many vessels that have operated on the North Sea for 30 years or more that need replacing.”

One stop shop

According to René Raaijmakers, Executive Director Sales, Royal IHC, who announced the partnership, clients will no longer have to shop around for a ship design, sat systems equipment and shipyard.

“With this new alliance we are offering a one stop shop to deliver on time, on budget and on spec,” Raaijmakers said.

He added: “Clients are cutting investments in new developments but that makes cost efficient investments in existing operations all the more important. Our DSVs offer a more cost efficient solution than currently available on the market.”

So how long would it take for a vessel to hit the water?

Cor van der Harst, Product director, Offshore Vessels, Royal IHC has the answer: “The time to build this ship is 24 months and then it’s ready – including sat notation.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff