July 7 - Atlantic Towing (USA) has selected newly-designed, ice-strengthened PSV 5000 vessels from Damen Shipyards Group to meet its demanding 10-year offshore support contract with ExxonMobil Canada Properties and Hibernia Management and Development Comp
The vessels will operate in the challenging sub-arctic waters of the Hibernia and Hebron oil fields, off Newfoundland and Labrador.
ATL will take delivery of four PSV 5000 vessels, one of which will be equipped for inspection, repair and maintenance duties. All four will share the same fully functional PSV design platform, with the first vessel due in service in the second half of 2016.
Jan van Hogerwou, manager North America, Damen Shipyards Gorinchem, says: "These will be safety critical vessels, working in sub-arctic conditions in one of the world's foggiest places renowned for strong winds, high waves, snow and icebergs. All four will be benefit from iceberg management tools, while the IRM vessel will feature a 100 ton subsea crane equipped with an advanced heave compensation system for operation in the Grand Banks area."
The PSV5000s will join Atlantic Towing's current fleet of nine offshore support vessels, playing a key role in the project's iceberg-management programme, as well as fulfilling standard PSV duties.
