Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc., Panama City, Fla., announced on Tuesday that it has completed the conversion and redelivery of the HOS Rocinante, a U.S.-flagged service operation vessel (SOV), to Hornbeck Offshore Services, Covington, La.
Originally constructed by Eastern as an offshore supply vessel, the Rocinante underwent an extensive conversion at the company’s Allanton and Port St. Joe shipyards. The project reconfigured the 300'x60' vessel to support technician accommodations, personnel transfer, and extended offshore operations for both offshore wind projects and traditional energy work.
According to Eastern, the conversion included installation of an Uptime motion-compensated walk-to-work gangway, enhanced dynamic positioning and propulsion systems, upgraded accommodations with single-person staterooms, expanded cargo-handling and storage capacity, and a new energy-storage system designed to improve power reserves and failure-mode operability.
The vessel is powered by four Cummins QSK-60DM main engines as well as an 870-kWh Corvus ORCA battery energy storage system. Main propulsion is delivered by a pair of Schottel azimuthing L-drives, and the vessel also features two Schottel FPP tunnel thrusters and a Brunvoll PM tunnel thruster. The vessel cruises at 9 knots with a max speed of 12 knots.
Joey D’Isernia, Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s CEO, said the delivery highlights the capabilities of the U.S. shipbuilding workforce and marks a milestone for the Gulf Coast yard, which originally built the vessel more than a decade ago.
“This is a full circle moment for our team to be able to convert a vessel that we built more than ten years ago. The delivery of the HOS Rocinante demonstrates what American ingenuity and skilled labor can accomplish,” said D’Isernia. “This vessel is now one of the most capable multi-market offshore support assets in the U.S. fleet, built right here on the Gulf Coast by America’s best shipbuilders.”
Eastern said the project supported hundreds of skilled jobs across its facilities and regional supplier network and strengthens the company’s position in complex vessel construction and conversion. Hornbeck Offshore Services plans to deploy the SOV across offshore wind and petro-energy markets.
