The Norwegian owner North Sea Invest AS has placed the order with Astilleros Barrera in Vigo, Spain, to build the 145m long and 30m wide ship. Commissioning is scheduled for 2010. The OCV has two heave compensated cranes that adapt hydraulically to prevailing sea movements, as well as a helipad. During long term duty on sea, boat and crew can therefore be supplied from the air.

Among the special features of the ship is a redundant dynamic positioning system (DP2) keeping the ship at a given working position, as well as the Voith Roll Stabilization (VRS), which reduces rolling motions when seas are high. Both devices enable the crew to work on board, even under bad weather conditions. The maximum sailing speed of the ship is 16 knots.

'The ultimate reason for the OCV being fitted with Voith components is the performance that we can achieve with the VSP in combination with our roll stabilization system, said project manager Ivo Beu of Voith Turbo Schneider Propulsion. 'As the search for new oil and gas fields is increasingly extended to sea areas and, most of all, greater and greater ocean depths, it is essential for ships to have such equipment. This OCV is, for example, ideal for the laying of pipelines.'

The vessel will accommodate more than 120 crew members and also has a large deck surface for preparatory work. One possible area of application follows on from the recent discovery of new oil reserves at 3,000m water depth in the Santos Bay just outside Rio de Janeiro. In order to set up appropriate extraction sites, OCVs such as this design could be indispensable.