U.K.-based Briggs Marine has ordered a 40-meter maintenance support vessel at Vigo, Spain, based shipbuilder Freire A/S. Due to enter service in fourth quarter 2004, the vessel will enhance and expand the Briggs Marines offering across a range of industries including defense, ports and harbors, energy & utilities, construction and offshore renewable energy.
Optimally configured to support Briggs’ ongoing contracts with the U.K. Government, offshore wind farms and commercial ports, the vessel will primarily undertake inspection, servicing and replacement of Aids to Navigation (AtoN) and heavy inshore moorings in the U.K. and overseas.
In addition to the primary AtoN tasks, the vessel has been designed to incorporate maximum flexibility for support of other tasks including ROV deployment, survey duties, diving, subsea investigation, seabed preparation tasks and other marine project activities.
Among other features, the vessel is fitted with a moonpool, a detachable “A” frame, a four-point mooring system and a survey project office. A demountable crew transfer vessel (CTV) boarding ladder has also been incorporated into the design to support offshore windfarm projects.
The DP2 vessel has a diesel-electric propulsion system that is designed to be future-proof. The ship will be able to embrace emerging technologies to utilize transitional fuels and offer drop-in battery capacity to allow zero carbon operations in some circumstances.
Crew welfare is increasingly important to Briggs, and accommodations are to be well appointed with noise -reduction features to enable 24/7 operations at high levels of endurance. The vessel’s hull shape is the result of lengthy technical collaboration with the builders aimed at providing excellent seakeeping properties and weather resilience.
Comfortable continuous operations will be possible with a permanent crew of six and a balance of 10 additional project personnel accommodated in well-appointed cabins.
“This latest vessel order further demonstrates Briggs’ commitment to maintaining its position as the UK’s nearshore marine experts,” said managing director Collieson Briggs. “The vessel will further enhance our marine project support capability for both the growing renewables sector as well as the more traditional marine construction tasks upon which Briggs has built its solid reputation.”.
Briggs Marine is a provider of marine and environmental services with over 50 years’ experience, specializing in port and marine operations, environmental and subsea support, and vessel chartering. The company has established itself in recent years as a key supplier for Peel Ports Group, providing marine services in the Port of Liverpool and London Medway as well as providing Aids to Navigation (AtoN), commercial diving, subsea cable IMR, construction and engineering support, environmental response, marine survey, terminal and energy storage solutions and vessel charter services across the U.K.
