Ceona has awarded a 5-yr contract worth over £45million to independent ROV provider ROVOP. The contract will see ROVOP provide hydraulic, work-class ROV services on board Ceona’s fleet of new, purpose-built deepwater pipelay and construction vessels including the Ceona Amazon and the Polar Onyx.
Stuart Cameron, COO at Ceona, said: "This partnership with ROVOP is a significant milestone in the development of Ceona's new high-capacity fleet. The construction of the Ceona Amazon and the Polar Onyx is progressing on schedule, and with this partnership we're ensuring our vessels have the best technology on board to match their capabilities and equip them for projects in the most remote and challenging environments."
As a result of this contract, ROVOP is creating 50 new jobs.
Steven Gray, managing director at ROVOP, said: “The long-term commitment agreed between Ceona and ROVOP reflects the shared vision of using advanced technology and personnel with decades of experience to challenge conventional thinking. This brings safer, more efficient and reliable services to the subsea construction market.”
ROVOP will deploy hydraulic, work-class ROV systems, manufactured by FMC Technologies' Schilling Robotics. These HD ROVs represent the most technologically-advanced ROV systems available in the market, including a modular design that significantly improves repair and maintenance times, as well as providing a range of “auto-pilot” style functions that improve safety and efficiency.
Ceona's Polar Onyx and Ceona Amazon vessels are due to come into service in March 2014 and January 2015 respectively. Based on a drillship design, the Ceona Amazon boasts exceptional sea-keeping characteristics making it ideal for operations in remote and challenging locations. The multi-layer vessel, which is SPS compliant and equipped with a DP2 system, is a large, state-of-the-art, multi-functional, dynamically-positioned, pipelay and construction vessel.
The vessel is capable of laying rigid pipelines, flexible pipelines, and umbilicals, as well as installing large, subsea structures using one or both of its two compensated masthead cranes in tandem-lift mode to 3000m water depth. The vessel does not require a spool base to support its operations and can be remotely operated, making it well suited to overall field development.
Ceona’s high-capacity Polar Onyx is designed for operations in harsh conditions and deep waters, with a length of 130m and a 25m beam. The vessel, which is being built to DP3, is equipped with a 250t AHC offshore crane, is designed to operate in the SURF (subsea, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines), construction, and inspection repair and maintenance markets.
With capacity for flexible pipe loads below deck and on the main deck, the Polar Oynx is being equipped with a 275t vertical lay system above a moonpool, which is capable of installing flexible pipe and umbilicals to 3000m water depth.
Headquartered in Westhill, Aberdeen, ROVOP is a specialist ROV operator with a complete focus on the safe and efficient operation of ROVs. As part of its commitment to the ROV and subsea industry, ROVOP established its own proprietary ROV Academy earlier this year while the company also joined forces with industry body Subsea UK as the headline sponsor of the first specialist ROV conference of its kind which was held during Offshore Europe 2013.
Image: Ceona’s chief operating officer, Stuart Cameron (left), and ROVOP managing director, Steven Gray, after signing the contract.
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