Page 52: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2015)

ROV & AUV Report: Norway

Fishing for V

With more than 50 offshore service vessels (OSVs) laid-up in the North Sea due to less drilling, ? eet owners with ? sheries roots are showing signs of “going back” to the past for “new” ideas on how to adapt in lean times. Fitting and testing novel equipment and new ways to work was one way. Super charterer Statoil has looked to the ? shery for cost-cutting salvation and, along with other oil companies, has chartered a purse seiner ? tted for ROV and AUV work, seismic shoots, subsea lifts and seabed surveys. In these times, it’s about value increments.

By William Stoichevski

Ervik & Saevik’s ROV Haul The two trained captains compete with the township of He- “Here’s the other owner of the ship,” says Rita Saevik of her roey’s 150 OSVs and 3,500 sailors in the cutting-edge ? eets partner, Espen Ervik, the ship’s captain, in the gentle, slightly of Olympic, Island, Havyard and others, including the seismic breezy English common in these parts. Saevik is manager of survey crews of Sanco. Tech-savvy Captain Ervik con? rms

Ervik & Saevik’s 80-meter purse seiner and multipurpose ves- the vessel has been modi? ed to offer ROV teams three deck sel, the Christina E. She introduces herself by recalling the power supplies: 3-phase, 440V of 400 amps, 300A and 6300A dreamy day on the wide-open Barents Sea when she decided and 305 kilovolts, 230 kVa and 50 kVa. We avoid day rate dis- to own her own vessel. She was 11 and ? shing with her father. cussions — she’s obviously cheaper than a large OSV — and

Although the ? rst of four pelagic ? shing seasons is about we learn of the Christina E’s other advantages of speed to mo- to begin, Saevik talks contracts, including the recent 180-day bilization, deck space, Karmoy cranes and winches. There’s charter extension with Statoil for subsea inspection work by “roll-reduction” to operate WROVs in rough weather and a

ROV. There’s the growing list of jobs won in the “off-season” retractable keel on which subsea equipment can attach.

for doing environmental research; for towing a single seismic streamer; hiring her own ROV crew and then getting ready for Argus ROVs future work with arguably more suitable AUVs. While Statoil, the locals say, “thinks mostly about fuel con-

October 2015 52

MTR

MTR #8 (50-64).indd 52 9/29/2015 3:22:55 PM