70-metre offshore crew transfer vessel launched in Australia

Austal Australia has launched a 70-metre offshore crew transfer vessel being built for Caspian Marine Services (CMS) of Azerbaijan, at the company’s Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.

The ‘Rashid Behbudov’s’ forward hull module was fabricated at Austal Philippines in Balamban, Cebu, and the stern hull module and superstructure were built in Australia.

In March 2016 the forward hull was transported to Henderson where the superstructure and stern were connected.

The 30-knot, 150 passenger catamaran features a 400-square-metre cargo deck and is configured to allow walk-to-work crew transfers between vessel and offshore installations, via an Ampelmann platform.

The ‘Rashid Behbudov’ is said to be on schedule for delivery to CMS in the third quarter of 2016, following final fit-out and completion of sea trials.