According to a press release from Shearwater, the dual ROV vessel is expected to be available to clients early in the second quarter of 2023 following a conversion of the SW Tasman multipurpose vessel. Designed to deploy ocean bottom nodes in both deep and shallow water the vessel will also be able to provide high-quality source for surveys and conduct towed streamer surveys.
Ulstein Design & Solutions AS, the original vessel designers, will provide conversion engineering, with Evotec providing launch and recovery solutions and ROVOP providing dual work ROVs with associated ROV personnel.
The conversion is an example of how Shearwater can leverage its flexible fleet to provide additional high-end capacity tailored to clients' needs in response to a significant increase in demand for ocean bottom seismic.
"In short, this is the world's first commercial multi-technology geophysical ROV vessel with source and towed streamer capability, and able to perform ocean bottom ROV surveys as a single unit," said Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater. "Having our own dual ROV vessel will support improved risk management and operational performance, and in a market with capacity constraints, it enables us to offer robust solutions to our clients using our own assets."
SW Tasman was delivered in 2010 from Drydocks World as a 12-streamer 3D offshore seismic research vessel to Western Geco, and Shearwater took ownership of the vessel in 2018.
