Ice Class Survey Vessel Fitted with ROV Platform

SeaZip Offshore Service and Amsterdam-based Deep Hydrography & Geophysics have announced that the two firms will jointly operate a DP1 Ice Class Survey and ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) vessel. This means that hydrographic and maritime expert knowledge will be combined in a robust vessel of more than 42 metres long which can be used for any survey operations on the open sea. The vessel, the SeaZip Fix, is manned with maritime professionals and can be supplemented with experienced surveyors. She has a high level of equipment for surface and underwater positioning. Specific survey equipment can be added to her standard equipment, such as multibeam echo-sounder, a side-scan sonar, a UXO gradiometer array and a sub-bottom profiler.

Now that the locations for building wind turbine parks tend to be at ever greater distances from the coast, both contractors and survey companies need larger survey vessels. Jan Reier Arends, SeaZip’s Managing Director/Owner, said: “The SeaZip Fix has the qualities which are required to conduct all kinds of surveys on the open sea 24/7. We take care of the ship management, while the Deep experts guarantee that the SeaZip Fix is rapidly customized to the needs of the specific survey operations.”

The DP1 Ice Class Survey and ROV vessel SeaZip Fix was built in Norway in 1981 and fully refitted in Denmark in 2015. The vessel is 42.24 metres long and 10 metres wide and has a draught of 5-metre. She boasts 9 single and 6 double berths. In 2015, all electronics and control systems were replaced and all class requirements were met before the transfer. The SeaZip Fix provides the stability required for safe operational processes at sea – even in challenging circumstances. Due to the large number of berths, the vessel can be deployed for 24/7 operations.

Jurgen Beerens, Deep’s Commercial Director, said: “We have been looking for a larger survey vessel for quite some time and are aware of the differences in demand with respect to ship management. We are seizing the opportunity to jump onto the bandwagon with SeaZip, because it provides us with an unparalleled proposition: a fully-fledged sea-going vessel with a high-grade level of equipment for conducting hydrographic, geophysical and geotechnical surveys. With a boost: the option to hire our experienced hydrographic surveyors and state-of-the-art equipment so as to add to the clients’ own skills and expertise. Our aim is to minimize mobilisation and demobilisation periods for the hiring party.”