Technip names Deep Explorer Diving Support Vessel

French oilfield services provider Technip has named its latest newbuild, the diving support vessel (DSV) Deep Explorer, at Vard’s Langsten shipyard in Norway.

Technip said on Tuesday that the vessel was officially named on Saturday, November 12, by Heidi Brovoll-Bø, wife of Knut Bø, President of Technip’s North Sea Canada region.

The vessel hull was built by the Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania and then towed to the Vard Langsten yard in Norway for equipment outfitting and commissioning. The vessel features a 24-man twin bell saturated diving system rated to 350m. The diving system was designed, built and commissioned by JFD, part of James Fisher and Sons plc.

Deep Explorer is a DP3 class DSV, purpose-designed and certified for subsea projects in the Canadian part of the North Sea. Deep Explorer also has a built in 400 Te box boom crane, a large deck area, working moonpool and work-class remote operating vehicles (ROVs).

The OSCV 06 Design newbuild is 156.7 meters long, 27 meters wide with a deadweight of 11,000 tonnes and can accommodate 150 persons.

The vessel is capable of working globally on diving and subsea construction projects in extreme weather conditions. Technip said that the vessel would begin operational duties in 2017.

Bruno Faure, Technip’s Senior Vice President for Subsea Projects and Operations, said: “We are proud to welcome the Deep Explorer, an impressive key asset for the Technip fleet and our clients. My sincere thanks to all those in Technip and our partner companies who have contributed to this successful project.”

Yard Director and Senior Vice President at Vard Langsten, Dag Vikestrand, added: “Deep Explorer represents a technological quantum leap, thanks to the excellent teamwork between Technip, JFD, and Vard. The knowledge, skills, and experience of all parties involved have been key factors in achieving the design and build of this impressive vessel.”