Promet Launches First Of Kind Vessel For National Marine

Promet Private Limited shipyard in Singapore recently launched a maintenance/inspection vessel named NMS 401, reputed to be the first of its kind for use in the Arabian Gulf. The vessel's sponsor was Mrs. Pete Domaschk, wife of the general manager of National Marine Service of St. Louis, owner of the vessel.

The 180-foot ship has a beam of 50 feet and depth of 16 feet, and free-running speed of about 10 knots. It is equipped with foam, fire, and oil dispersant systems.

Fully loaded its draft will be 13 feet.

The unique vessel was designed by Pete Guild, naval architecture consultant for National Marine, to perform special offshore support functions at an oil field in the Arabian Gulf. It will act as a diving support vessel with divers stationed aboard at all times to install, service, and remove items or perform other underwater work.

It will also be used for anchor handling. Due to the hard coral bottom of the Arabian Gulf, special 25-ton, rectangular block anchors are used throughout the area instead of conventional anchors for permanent vessel mooring and for positioning drilling rigs and jackets on location.

The vessel is fitted with a fixed gantry and hydraulic A frame on her port side for setting, retrieving, and storing the anchors, chain, and buoys used in the field.

As a maintenance and inspection vessel, the NMS 401 will be required to maintain the oil field's vast system of underwater pipelines, wellheads, j a c k e t s , and mooring buoys. To perform the m a i n t e n a n c e functions, she is equipped with a 20-ton hydraulic crane to handle underwater pile driving, and r a i s i n g / l o w e r i ng equipment, plus her 40-ton Aframe lifting gear.

She has a large unobstructed deck area on the starboard side for fabrication, and launching and retrieving divers, diving bells, etc.

The vessel is equipped with a four-point mooring system, hydraulically operated, for stationkeeping during these duties. She is also provided with a 440-hp bow thruster and stern thruster to assist the two main diesel engines in positioning. Other duties will include survey and seismic work, firefighting, and rescue operations.

The NMS 401 has been classed by the American Bureau of Shipping.

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