Houston-based GulfMark Offshore Inc. announced Monday that its Norway subsidiary, GulfMark Norge AS, has taken delivery of the Arctic-class PSV North Barents from Simek AS shipyard, Flekkefjord, Norway.
The Wärtsilä-powered diesel-electric 11,465-hp North Barents, a ST-216 Arctic design by Skipsteknisk AS, is the third of this type to be built for GulfMark. The sister vessels North Pomor and North Cruys were delivered in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The PSVs' top speed is 16.5 knots.
The PSVs are all 304'x63'x28' with a maximum draft of 23'. The vessels' tankage includes: fuel oil, 1,172 m3; potable water 1,097 m3; drill water 1,820 m3; oil-based mud 1,203 m3; and methanol, 330 m3.
The DP-2, 5,000-dwt vessel is classified with DNV Clean Design, Winterized, Ice Class, and Oil Recovery (NOFO 2009) notations. The vessel has accommodations for 40, holding Comfort Class, Standby rescue certification (NMD 300) and is compliant with the Special Purpose Ships Code.
The North Barents was built for approximately $42 million and has commenced operations in Norway.
“The North Barents represents GulfMark’s commitment to operating a technologically advanced fleet of vessels with this class-leading delivery," Quintin Kneen, GulfMark's president and CEO, said in statement. "She is ideally suited for harsh environment operations and further strengthens our market position in the North Sea, where we remain the largest operator of platform supply vessels.”
In other GulfMark news, the company announced Wednesday that it had entered into two new long-term contracts.
The first is a two-year plus options contract for the 10,738-hp Highland Prince. U.K.-based ASCO Marine Ltd. has chartered the 2010-built Highland Prince, a 240' high specification diesel-electric DP-2 PSV, for its operations on the U.K. continental shelf. The 4,826-dwt PSV has a deck area of 10720 sq. ft. The vessel has a mud capacity of 6,048 bbls.
The second award is a four-year plus options charter for the 9,598-hp Highland Defender to support drilling operations on a central North Sea development with a U.K. operator. The 286' Highland Defender, built in 2013, is a state of the art dynamically positioned PSV with oil recovery capability, clean design and the special purpose ship classification. The DP-2, 4,975-dwt vessel has 10,763 sq. ft. of deck area and a mud capacity of 12,960 bbls.
“We are delighted with these new awards," Kneen said. "Multiple long-term contract awards in this challenging market demonstrates the value our customers continue to place on our leading safe, environmentally friendly, and reliable operations.”
