Page 18: of Marine Technology Magazine (May 2013)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) received an order for two vessels capable of three-dimensional (3D) seismic data acquisition for sea bottom resource exploration from Pe- troleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS). The order for the two ves- sels, which was signed on April 25 in Tokyo, was placed upon exercise by PGS of the option right that was provided when two same type vessels were ordered to MHI in April 2011. The two newly ordered vessels are scheduled for delivery in the Þ rst and second half, respectively, of 2015. With this latest order, MHI will build a total of four vessels to support PGSÕs highly efÞ cient deep water natural prospecting services. The vessels ordered are the ÒRamform Titan-class,Ó the new- est generation in the Ramform series featuring advanced 3D seismic data acquisition/analysis capability. The 104m vessel has a wide 70m breadth. For quiet operation, the vessel adopts diesel electric for the main propulsion system. The vessel is capable for receiving supply at sea to enable a long-term ex- ploration over an expansive area. The Ramform vessel tows multiple streamer cables from the vesselÕs stern, and in fact the Ramform Titan-class vessels ordered by PGS have a wider stern compared with existing vessels; this feature permits de- ployment of a greater number of streamer cablesÑup to 24 linesÑenabling exploration of a wider area at one time. MHI is currently building two previously ordered Ramform vessels at its Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works. Kongsberg to Supply Seismic Operation Systems The two new state-of-the-art Ramform Titan-class seismic vessels under construction at MHI for PGS will feature a signiÞ cant delivery from Kongsberg Maritime including in- tegrated navigation, Dynamic Positioning and an extensive back-deck handling systems package. The contracts, valued at more than $50m, were signed by Kongsberg Maritime and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, following PGSÕ decision to exer- Feature Vessel MHI to Build for PGS May 201318 MTRMTR #4 (18-33).indd 18MTR #4 (18-33).indd 185/6/2013 10:51:05 AM5/6/2013 10:51:05 AM