Vessel of the Year award goes to ‘Maersk Master’

Maersk Master, Maersk Supply Service’s (MSS) first AHTS Starfish-class vessel, has been awarded the Vessel of the Year award.

Maersk Supply said that the Maersk Master won the award at the annual Offshore Support Journal Conference in London on February 7.

According to MSS, this is the second year in a row that the company received this award for one of its newbuilds. The previous vessel to win the award was the Maersk Connector.

Maersk Master and its sister vessels, the Starfish class series, are designed to provide anchor handling and towing as well as carrying goods to and from offshore facilities and perform oil recovery operations.

Steen S. Karstensen, Maersk Supply CEO, said: “Maersk Master is a premium asset that is second to none in terms of operational reliability, onboard safety, comfort and fuel efficiency. The high quality of services can help to keep assets at work in the current tough market.”

Maersk Master is a DP2 deepwater anchor handling tug supply vessel of a SALT design. The vessel was built at Kleven yard in Norway and is powered by five engines, fuel efficient and flexible hybrid propulsion system, and fixed pitch on all side thrusters.

There is an ROV garage for one work-class remotely operated vehicle. The vessel has a large free deck area and a 450-tonne winch. Maersk added that the vessel was able to spool 6.5km of flexible pipeline onto the winch in one complete section during a decommissioning project.

Claus Bachmann, Maersk Supply COO, said: “Since joining the fleet, Maersk Master has worked on decommissioning in the North Sea to towing and mooring in the Indian Ocean. In March, she will begin a long-term contract with sister vessel, Maersk Mariner, working for Quadrant Energy in Australian waters.”

Two additional Starfish class vessels have already joined the Maersk Supply Service fleet, Maersk Mariner and Maersk Mover, following Maersk Master’s delivery. The remaining three vessels will be delivered later in 2018 and 2019.