Singapore-based shipowner and operator, Swire Pacific Offshore Operations (Pte) Ltd. (SPO) celebrated the launch of its new D-Class anchor-handling tug supply vessel, Pacific Dragon, on 18 Apr 2014. This is the eighth and final D-Class vessel.
The launch and naming ceremony of Pacific Dragon began close to midnight on 17 Apr at the Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd. (ST Marine) shipyard in Tuas, Singapore. The event was graced by Lady Sponsor, Camille Gribble (wife of SPO Finance Director, Nigel Gribble) and attended by more than 160 working partners, employees, and family members of ST Marine and SPO. The launch of Pacific Dragon marked the completion of the eight vessel D-Class series of 240T bollard pull, flexible and environmentally-friendly, anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels.
"The D-Class vessels represent a significant investment for SPO, forming a central part of our fleet expansion, re-balance and renewal strategy to meet the growing demand for large, modern, high-specification, deepwater offshore support vessels. We are very pleased with their range of operational capabilities and safety and technical performance in serving the needs of our customers around the world," says Managing Director of SPO, Mr. Neil Glenn.
Vessels in the D-Class series delivered to date include Pacific Defiance (28 Feb 2013), Pacific Diligence (3 Apr 2013), Pacific Dolphin (15 August 2013), Pacific Dove (3 Jan 2014), Pacific Discovery (3 Mar 2014), Pacific Duchess (6 Mar 2014). Pacific Dispatch is scheduled to be delivered in mid June 2014.
Pacific Dragon is the last of a series of six D-Class vessels that were built by ST Marine for SPO and will be delivered by the second half of this year.
"ST Marine is pleased to be the builder of six of the eight highly sophisticated D-Class AHTS for Swire Pacific Offshore. The journey is a wonderful one for us and we look forward to a continued successful partnership with Swire on their growth story," President of ST Marine, Ng Sing Chan said.
The D-Class vessels are well-equipped with advanced technical capabilities to support the latest generation of semisubmersible rigs operating in harsh, deepwater environments. Built to clean-class SPS 2008 and ice notations, these Havyard-designed vessels are designed to be fuel-efficient, to reduce environmental impact in whichever roles they are deployed to perform and to enhance safety during demanding deck anchor handling operations. They possess large capacity 500 MT RRM Brattvagg winches, latest dynamic positioning technology, enhanced station keeping with independent drop down azimuth thrusters, recovery frame (ARF) and travelling cranes. The vessels also have ample cargo capacity and deck space for a wide range of other offshore applications.
Today, SPO owns and operates a diverse fleet of 85 offshore support vessels, including anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels, platform supply vessels, ice-breaking supply vessels, anchor handling tugs, seismic survey vessels, wind-farm installation vessels, accommodation vessels and multi-purpose offshore vessels. SPO will have a fleet of 100 vessels by the end of 2015.
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