Kewatec’s largest, most complex vessel christened

Geologen was handed over to the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) in January after sailing from Porvoo, Finland. At 23.9 metres long and six metres wide, she was built to map and study the seabed’s geology and is the first IMO-registered vessel built by the shipbuilder.

She has two 670kW diesel engines and 200kW electric motors giving a top speed of just under 20 knots. The intention is to use the diesel engines for transfer to and from work areas, and electric power when performing surveys to reduce environmental impact and minimse any noise and vibrations to achieve extremely accurate survey results.

“The vessel is equipped with extremely accurate equipment to survey the seabed of the Norwegian fjords and coastal zone with depths down to 1,300 metres,” Kewatec says. “She has two multibeam echo sounders, a sub-bottom profiler, and seismic equipment to map the seabed and the geology beneath the seabed.

“The vessel also has an ROV, will be used to study the seabed in detail and can be operated with the help of an A-frame on the aft deck. The vessel’s dynamic positioning function allows the vessel to track the ROV.”

“Geologen is a high-tech, world-class work tool that will provide us with critical geological data for many years to come,” said minister for business Jan Christian Vestre, at the naming ceremony. “It has great value for future business development, social security, land management, and the natural diversity along our coast.”

“NGU’s expectations for environmental friendliness and high functionality were positively challenging and resulted in completely new, unique solutions for, among other things, the propulsion package and measuring equipment, as well as the integration of the onboard systems. We managed to identify and collaborate with several Norwegian suppliers, who at the same time provide local service and maintenance in the coming years,” said Kewatec CEO, Kent Björklund.