The Fugro Quest, equipped with advanced deep-water technology, is the newest addition to Fugro’s geotechnical vessel fleet. The converted ship is used to determine the exact composition of the soil; the resulting data are essential to establish the optimal location and design of offshore developments, such as wind farms.
The vessel provides increased personnel and operational safety, whilst its energy efficient design results, on average, in significantly lower fuel consumption than for other geotechnical vessels. Moreover, its ability to take hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel and remote operations and data processing capabilities support sustainable operations.
Barbara Geelen, Fugro’s Chief Financial Officer, performed the naming ceremony on 30 November, ahead of the vessel’s maiden voyage. The vessel will commence operations in December for Vattenfall’s offshore wind farm near Norfolk in the United Kingdom.
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Geotechnical data in near real time
Fugro Quest ’s capabilities include the acquisition of high-quality geotechnical data from 2000 metres below sea level. The vessel is equipped with cutting-edge systems and advanced deep-water technology such as WISON Mk V Ecodrive, SEACALF Mk V Deep Drive as well as dedicated coring systems and onboard soil-testing laboratory facilities.
Its remote positioning and fast data-processing capabilities enable access to acquired project data in near real time from the cloud.
‘Today’s launch is fully aligned with our path to net zero operations by 2035,’ says Dennis Koenen, Fugro’s Service Line Director for Geotechnics in Europe and Africa. ‘Fugro Quest consumes less fuel than other large geotechnical vessels. It is hybrid ready, comes with automatic handling of tubulars and geotechnical tools and has the latest IT capabilities on board to safely carry out operations across the globe. Bookings until July 2023 are already in place, and we’re excited to show how our new vessel can enhance the execution of our projects.’
Also read: Fugro expands autonomous survey vessel fleet with Blue Prism
Second conversion
The Fugro Quest was delivered as platform supply vessel Hugin Explorer in 2006 by Kleven Yard. In 2008, it was converted into a seismic node vessel. Fugro had been chartering the vessel from Siem Offshore for a number of years before acquiring the vessel at the end of the charter in 2019.
The vessel has now been converted into a geotechnical vessel at Damen Shiprepair.
Also read: Fugro: Carbon capture and storage can be combined with offshore wind
