The Ulstein Verft subsea newbuild, 'Island Performer', was delivered Wednesday to ship owner Island Offshore. The flexible, state-of-the-art RLWI/IMR vessel will serve her first five years for FTO in the Gulf of Mexico.
"The vessel is customised to suit the scope of work in the FTO contract, in which RLWI (riser-less light well intervention) and IMR (inspection/maintenance/repair) are the main tasks," said Managing Director Håvard Ulstein, Island Offshore. "She is able to perform operations at depths down to 3,000 metres, and the contracted work start at year's end. However, the very first assignment will be for the RogFast connection in Norway, in which the scope of work will be to investigate the sea bottom."
A large intervention tower is placed over the eight- by eight-metre main moon pool. She is equipped with a 250-tonne AHC (active heave compensated) offshore crane with a below-deck winch, and carries two deep-sea work ROVs, one to be launched through a dedicated moon pool and the other from the starboard side.
The vessel is equipped with resiliently mounted tunnel thrusters, and she carries the DNV GL class notation Comfort Class, COMF-V1, which ensures that noise and vibrations are kept at minimum. SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) catalysts are installed for all engines. An ESD system (Emergency Shut Down system) is installed in order to automatically close down systems in case of a hydrocarbon leakage. 'Island Performer' has a crew capacity of 130, and in case of evacuation, each of the lifeboats on the starboard and port sides can accommodate everyone on board. Carrying the patented Ulstein X-Bow, the vessel has reduced speed loss in head seas, resulting in reduced fuel consumption and emissions to air.
