Fugro Survey Limited, Aberdeen, took delivery of its latest new-build, Fugro Galaxy, last Tuesday (March 1); the second FSSV 65 class dedicated geophysical survey vessel.
Further, Fugro Subsea Services is also on track to deliver its new-build construction vessel Fugro Symphony in May.
Fugro Galaxy
With oil & gas developments taking place in ever more remote and extreme environments, a new standard of geophysical survey vessel is needed to cope with these challenges. With this in mind, Fugro Galaxy represents the first phase of a global vessel replacement programme, with the objective of pruning older tonnage from the fleet and clearly differentiating Fugro’s offshore survey division from other providers.
Delivered on schedule, Fugro Galaxy joins the company’s fleet as Europe’s newest and most advanced offshore survey vessel.
As Fugro Survey’s MD, Phil Meaden, said at the formal naming ceremony in Bremen: “The significant investment made in this vessel highlights Fugro’s commitment to the north-west European energy sector and our determination to deliver to clients the high quality site investigation service their development projects require.”
Operated out of Aberdeen by Fugro Survey, the FSSV 65 class represents a multimillion pound investment in vessels and equipment as part of the group’s global fleet renewal programme. To cope with current growth in demand for its services the company has also increased staffing by 15% to around 330 at the start of 2011.
“This substantial investment in our Aberdeen operation demonstrates Fugro’s continued commitment to the industry, our clients and the local economy,” added Meaden.
FSSV 65 class
FSSV 65 is the chosen design name for a state-of-the-art 65m Fugro Standard Survey Vessel.
Designed to company specifications by Fr. Fassmer GmbH & Co, the specially designed hull form and propulsion system ensures an acoustically very quiet ship that is economical to run, even at higher than standard survey speeds.
Add the latest generation of survey equipment and it is the most advanced vessel of its type in the world. An acoustically quiet ship means significantly better data quality.
The first FSSV 65, MV Fugro Searcher, launched in 2010, has proved to be an extremely capable survey platform, attracting highly complimentary feedback on reliability, comfort and the excellence of data quality from clients’ offshore representatives.
Fugro Galaxy
Fugro Galaxy is a multitasking DP1 vessel, with a permanently mobilised suite of high resolution geophysical and hydrographic survey equipment including Kongsberg EM710 multibeam, a new generation Topas PS 40 parametric sub-bottom profiler and solid digital seismic streamers.
Environmental, geotechnical and ROVSV equipment will be deployed using both stern and side hydraulic A frame-handling equipment. The vessel is fully networked to provide plug-and-play interconnectivity, and has Fugro’s dual DGPS high precision surface positioning and HiPAP acoustic underwater positioning.
The survey instrumentation and vessel configuration focus on high-quality, high-resolution data acquisition, enabling the spread to map seabed and subsurface layers in the detail now required for safe and cost-effective offshore operations and engineering design. Multiple offline data processing workstations facilitate quality control analysis and enable reports to be produced onboard. Data can be assembled, analysed and interpreted in a fully integrated manner.
Fugro Galaxy can tackle the full range of surveys, including analogue geophysical surveys, in shallow and deep water, multichannel seismic rig site surveys, environmental and geotechnical investigations, pipeline and cable route investigations and swathe bathymetry projects.
There is ample room for work and recreation. Modern and spacious offices, along with en-suite accommodation for 42 people and recreation areas including a video room, gym and an internet café help make the Fugro Galaxy a more comfortable place to work. Such investments will enhance and maintain Fugro Survey’s industry-leading standards in 2011 and beyond.
Fugro Symphony
Meanwhile, across Denmore Road at the offices of Fugro Subsea Services (formerly Fugro Rovtech), there is news on its latest ROV support vessel, Fugro Symphony
Due to be delivered in May, it is Fugro’s latest, purpose-built ROV support vessel, specifically designed to address the latest demands of the deepwater remote intervention, construction and survey markets.
The DNV classified vessel is equipped with a 150-tonne knuckle-boom crane with active heave compensation, capable of operating to 3,000m, plus a separate 10-tonne auxiliary subsea crane.
Fugro Symphony is being fitted out at the BMV shipyard in Norway, and progress has been good despite the bitter winter. The project team are confident they will meet a delivery date of May 3 this year.
The vessel manager reports that the remaining Fugro Subsea Services equipment will be fitted around April 6, which will give everyone plenty of time to integrate the FCV ROVs and survey equipment before delivery.
Keith Love, Fugro Symphony offshore vessel manager, said: “One of the highlights of the build programme so far was seeing the 150-tonne main crane being installed by a local crane barge. That is now complete with commissioning expected to finish soon and final testing scheduled for the end of February.
“The 10-tonne crane has already been fully tested and certified. Both ROV LARS are mechanically installed with only the electrical and hydraulic installations to be completed before we can start commissioning and testing.”
The 130m Fugro Symphony is the largest construction vessel in the Fugro fleet and, with a beam of 24m, the working deck is about the size of a full-sized football pitch.