VESSEL CONVERSION | Fugro Zephyr – Platform supplier re-enters service as geotechnical drilling ship

Remontowa Shipbuilding in Poland has completed conversion work on a platform supply vessel (PSV) to enable it to be used for geotechnical drilling in support of the offshore wind market.

The Fugro-operated, 88-metre (290-foot) PSV Fugro Zephyr was originally built in China in 2019 and previously sailed under the name Sea Goldcrest. The conversion was done in anticipation of growing worldwide demand for geotechnical drilling vessels.

Extensive retrofitting aided by adaptable design

The conversion entailed installation of a moonpool, a laboratory, a storage room for geological samples, a refrigerated container, an incinerator, workshops, a hydraulic unit, a compressor room, and a prefabricated mezzanine deck that features a 40-metre (130-foot) drilling rig.

Although the vessel’s original layout meant that a moonpool may be installed in the future, the hull was strengthened even further to ensure that the moonpool would be better suited to the vessel’s new role.

The mezzanine and the main deck are linked by a companionway, thus allowing crew communication between these two areas without having to pass through the superstructure. A hydraulic power unit was installed on the main deck prior to the integration of the mezzanine and sidewalls.

The work also included incorporation of additional space in the wheelhouse to accommodate a dedicated control station for the drilling rig. In the final configuration, the drilling rig can be lowered into the water via the moonpool.

The drilling rig is placed at a sufficient height above the moonpool to permit the lowering and manoeuvring of pipes to further extend the drill when conducting operations several hundred metres below.

One of the PSV's two existing silos that was originally used for transporting bulk cargo to offshore platforms has been reconstructed with multiple compartments to enable it to function as a liquid mud tank. The other silo was meanwhile converted into a dedicated pumping station with two storeys.

Modernisation of existing crew spaces

The work to install the custom mud storage and mixing system was undertaken by CemFlexx. The vacuum-based design ensures energy-efficient operation while providing enhanced precision in dosing control.

Other upgrades include complete renovations of the galley and the mess; rearrangement of the deck offices to be used by embarked scientists; addition of a reference system for the vessel’s dynamic positioning system; and installation of new phone lines, fire detectors, loudspeakers, deck monitoring systems and transformers. The latter necessitated reconstruction of the existing switchboards.

Fire suppression installation specialist Griffin Marine supplied a Nobel nozzle-equipped fat fryer extinguisher for use in the galley.