Seismic Survey Ship is the best seismic survey vessel in the world. Length 104.2 m, width aft 70 m, displacement 8000 tons, speed 16 knots, 24 winches with cables total length 12 km. It tows several hundred thousand electronic sensors behind it, covering an area of ​​more than 12 square kilometers. Crew 80 Built in Japan at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki shipyard.

In 2012, the Norwegian seismic company Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) placed an order for the construction of two W-class Ramform vessels with the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The vessels are representatives of a new, or rather, fifth generation of the Ramform series.

The SSS Ramform class is the most powerful and efficient marine seismic survey vessel ever built. They are also the widest.

These vessels bring together advanced marine technology and GeoStreamer's marine seismic capabilities. The entire stern of the ship, 70 m wide, is occupied by 24 drums with seismic streamers. 16 of them are located on the same line, and 8 more are slightly ahead. Increased workspace and advanced equipment make ship operations safer and more functional.

For PGS and its customers, faster deployment and retrieval of equipment, as well as extended time at sea, means faster completion of seismic surveys and increased uptime in adverse weather conditions. The period between entering the shipyard for repairs has also been increased by 50%.

The vessel carries over 6,000 tons of fuel and equipment. As a rule, it tows a network of several hundred thousand seismic sensors behind it, covering an area of ​​​​more than 12 square meters. km, equivalent to 1,500 football fields or three and a half Central parks in NYC.

Ships of the "SSS Ramform" type provide safe and comfortable accommodation, as well as a working environment for 80 crew members. There are 60 single cabins on board, as well as 10 double cabins for visitors with separate bathrooms.

The Ramform type is characterized by an unusual delta-shaped hull in plan with a wide stern. The first vessel of this type was the long-range sonar surveillance vessel Maryata, built for the Norwegian Navy back in the 90s. Engineering staff from PGS notes high level collection of seismic information of such a vessel, which is ensured by the delta-shaped hull. Vessels sail under the Flag of the Bahamas.

John Eric Reinhardsen, President and CEO of PGS, commented: “SSS Ramform Titan builds seismic new level. We have combined the most advanced technology with the most powerful and efficient vessel in the industry. "SSS Ramform Titan" will add to our fleet and further strengthen the company's position in the market, giving us an advantage for the next 10 years."

seismic high resolution is becoming more and more in demand due to the intensive growth of the deep sea drilling industry, especially in difficult areas such as Brazil, West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.

DNV, in consultation with leading companies such as WesternGeco, PGS and Fugro-Geoteam, has developed a new seismic vessel classification. The basis of the new technical requirements was the need to allocate space for standby equipment and appropriate placement of equipment on deck to ensure continuous operation without loss of speed. Seismic vessels use advanced computer technology to locate resources beneath the seabed and are a key link in the chain leading to subsequent offshore development. According to DNV, any delays in the movement of the vessel can complicate the processing of seismic data. It is extremely important to achieve the continuity of work, which allows to exclude any technological downtime. Given the high cost of seismic streamers used at sea, an unexpected loss of speed can lead to serious consequences, such as cable damage, which can disrupt seismic operations.

The new requirements are related to the increased availability of vessels during important stages of seismic work. DNV consulted not only with vessel owners, but also with suppliers of seismic and high-pressure equipment, in order to take into account all issues that may arise in the present and future.

Maintaining tractive power is a key issue. That is why the DNV classification is based on the reservation of one stage of propulsion power, so that any breakdown on board does not lead to a loss of more than 50% of reliability. This is enough to maintain a minimum speed of a few knots and protect the expensive underwater guns and streamers in use.

Typically, seismic vessels operate continuously for many months without calling at a port. The classification requires that equipment be placed on deck in such a way as to facilitate its transportation to the crew and to allow replacement from the supply vessel. In addition, the new classification establishes requirements for the placement of the captain's bridge in order to ensure good review streamers and any lifeboats approaching during the normal operation of the ship. This classification also takes into account high pressure systems to ensure the safe operation of the crew on deck.

The new classification was published this summer and strengthened DNV's position in the seismic vessel classification market as the industry focuses on deep sea exploration. Jan Kvålsvold, director of market expansion and business development, said: “DNV has a large share of this market. Almost every second vessel has a DNV classification. The introduction of the new classification will allow owners operating in this high-tech segment of specialized vessels to meet future needs with maximum safety and reliability.”

- a specialized vessel designed for laying underwater pipelines. Currently, pipelayers are widely used in the development of offshore oil and gas fields for laying pipelines with a diameter of up to 1220 mm at depths of up to 130 m. Pipelayers have been designed for depths of up to 600 m. The pipelayer body has a simplified shape. Sometimes barges or other types of vessels are converted into pipelayers. Hulls of a catamaran type or with stabilizing columns are promising, especially for operation in areas with severe weather conditions. The technology of laying an underwater pipeline from a pipelayer consists in building it up by sequential welding of pipe sections located on the deck. At shallow depths, a curved descender is used to move the pipeline from the deck to the seabed, along which the pipeline being extended is moved from the stern of the vessel to the bottom as new pipe sections are welded. With an increase in the depth of the sea, an additional hinged support-stringer is installed at the stern of the vessel to support the pipeline when moving down and prevent it from large bends when leaving the vessel. For this, the ship has a tensioner. Another way of laying pipelines is drum. In this case, the pipelayer is equipped with a drum on which the steel flexible pipeline manufactured onshore is wound.

Khloponin's spokesman, Natalia Platonova, declined to comment on the letter, but said that in July the deputy prime minister reported to the president about the need to build seismic survey vessels in Russia. “As a result of this meeting, an instruction was given to organize such work. We are talking about raising funds for the implementation of the project, which are already included in the budgets of the relevant departments,” she said. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to a request.

Khloponin proposes to entrust the design and construction of new vessels for seismic exploration to a consortium of companies, which will include the United Construction Corporation (USC, it is planned to place orders at its facilities), the Okeanpribor state concern (which will provide vessels with Russian equipment) and Rosgeo, which owns more than 90% of the existing of the Russian seismic fleet - ten vessels, of which only two are adapted to perform work in 3D format.

The construction financing model is being worked out now, Roman Panov, general director of Rosgeologiya, confirmed to RBC. But he did not specify how the necessary 15 billion rubles. will be distributed between the budget and borrowed funds: Khloponin proposed to attract part of the funds from extrabudgetary sources, including using RDIF financial instruments. “Financing of this project is considered on the principles of public-private partnership. Its sources can be Rosgeologia’s own and borrowed funds, as well as partially earmarked funds from the federal budget,” added Anton Sergeev, representative of Rosgeologiya.

The Ministry of Natural Resources recommended that Rosnedra consider financing this project by redistributing funds from the budget for the reproduction of the mineral resource base, as Khloponin suggested, his spokesman Nikolai Gudkov said. In 2015-2016, Rosgeo was appointed the sole executor of the state order for geological exploration by decision of the government. But since 2017, it has been deprived of this right, and such work will again be distributed by Rosnedra and the Ministry of Natural Resources at tenders among specialized companies. Budget funding for exploration work in 2017 will be reduced by 5% compared to the current year (33 billion rubles), the minister told reporters natural resources Sergei Donskoy in September.

But Rosnedra opposed the redistribution of budgetary funds. The activities of the state program "Reproduction of the mineral resource base" do not provide for the allocation of funds for the construction of ships, according to a letter from the deputy head of the department, Sergei Aksenov, to the Ministry of Natural Resources dated July 22 (RBC has a copy). ​The redistribution of funds allocated for exploration will lead to “failure to meet the targets and failure to achieve the goal of the subprogram on sustainable provision of the country's economy with mineral reserves and geological information about the subsoil,” concludes Aksyonov.

The Deputy Head of Rosnedra proposes to build seismic exploration vessels exclusively at the expense of extra-budgetary funds, including with the involvement of offshore license holders interested in attracting such vessels. In Russia, only two companies, Rosneft and Gazprom, have the right to extract oil on the Arctic shelf. Rosneft has its own Zvezda shipyard (financed by the company's main shareholder, Rosneftegaz), where several ships are already being built, its spokesman Mikhail Leontyev said. According to him, the company has its own agreed investments in exploration and shipbuilding, it has not received any recommendations from Rosnedra regarding participation in the financing of two seismic survey vessels. A spokesman for Gazprom did not respond to a request.

A source in the Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed that the construction of such vessels is a non-core expenditure item for exploration. Platonova said that the consortium should prepare a business model for the construction of two vessels, which is planned to be discussed at a meeting before the end of October. Ilya Zhitomirsky, director of the information policy and corporate communications department at USC, said that the corporation would not take part in financing the project - it was only ready to build ships. The representative of Okeanpribor did not respond to a request from RBC. An RDIF official declined to comment.

Encumbranced licenses

The economic efficiency of the construction and operation of seismic vessels is achieved with a steady supply of orders from companies operating on the shelf, Khloponin's letter, that is, the same Rosneft and Gazprom, says in a letter. He recalls that similar conditions apply in countries with a developed offshore field development system, such as the United States, China and Norway. Therefore, he suggested that Putin instruct the government, when updating the licenses of these companies starting from 2019, to oblige them to purchase offshore seismic services from Russian state-owned companies (the state’s share is more than 50%) that have at least five years of experience in offshore zones, “with equal competitive conditions for the provision of similar services and works. Only Rosgeologiya and Zarubezhneft fall under these criteria. Zarubezhneft has a profile subsidiary for service work on the shelf Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, but in its arsenal there is only a drilling fleet, not a seismic survey fleet, according to the company's website.

The inclusion of such a condition in the licenses, according to the Law on Protection of Competition, is an action that leads or may lead to restriction of competition, Aksenov from Rosnedra wrote to the Ministry of Natural Resources. At the same time, on the recommendation of the Security Council, a priority has already been provided for attracting Russian contractors, taking into account their competitiveness, other things being equal, the price and quality of work, he recalls.

"Rosgeologiya" should not be considered a competent enough performer of work to conduct seismic exploration on the Arctic shelf, Leontiev told RBC. In his opinion, the company acts as an intermediary to attract the services of other contractors. He agrees with the Rosnedra official that such a clause in licenses could lead to a restriction of competition in the market. Rosneft now has the largest volume of seismic exploration on the Russian shelf, and the company would like to retain the right to attract contractors that suit it in terms of price and quality of work, he added.

The FAS representative told RBC that information about Khloponin's initiatives in the field of seismic exploration has not yet been received by the agency. He did not comment on the issue of potential restriction of competition.

A seismic vessel passes the Suez Canal.

I didn’t think, I didn’t guess, but I had a chance to visit a seismic vessel and slightly lift the veil over what and how they do. All the same, this area remained terra incognita for me, but I learned something (according to seismology, I can be wrong in the details, please don’t hit hard, but correct if anyone is in the subject).

Initially, dynamite served as a sound source for marine seismic surveys. In view of its obvious danger, later pneumatic guns were used as a source.

The accumulation of seismic data is the mapping of underwater structure in the constant search for hydrocarbons.
At first, the shape of the data was two-dimensional. The data were obtained using a single hose seismic streamer (or simply - a streamer, it is also a streamer, from the English "streamer") and one signal source.

Later, a new method for 3D mapping was developed. To do this, they strive to install as many streamers as possible, to cover a large area, as much as possible. The vessel under consideration "Vyacheslav Tikhonov" has 8 streamers for data acquisition (this is not the maximum number, there are vessels with a large number of streamers).

The data acquisition method can be compared to a very large echo sounder. An audible signal is sent by the air gun down to sea ​​bottom, and then the towed cable registers the reflected signals, which are recorded.

It looks like a ship with released seismic equipment.

The length of one streamer on the ship "Vyacheslav Tikhonov" is 6,000 meters long (precisely meters, not cable and other marine units).
Putting the braids into working condition and their selection at the end of the measurements is not a quick matter, it takes several days. At the same time, as during measurements, the vessel must follow a strictly defined course at a fixed speed (in this mode, the operating speed is about 5 knots). Because it is quite difficult and tiring for a person to maintain such a clear course and speed, the ship has a dynamic positioning (DP) system that allows you to perform this task automatically. Navigators mainly monitor the navigation situation, establish communication with ships to ensure safe divergence, etc. The turning radius in survey mode is a few miles to keep the streamers from getting tangled up. The ship's heading command is given from the seismological laboratory on the ship.

Also, to ensure safe separation from other vessels, to prevent damage to towed streamers (by the way, the cost of one streamer with all the equipment is about $ 2 million) and other auxiliary tasks, two tracking vessels (in English - chase boats). There is also one support vessel for the delivery of supplies and crew, for bunkering and other support tasks. In order to successfully fulfill these tasks, the research vessel must maintain reliable and constant communication with the tracking vessels, inform them in a timely manner of its plans.

As mentioned above, turning in the survey mode is quite a challenge. With a distance between the outer streamers of 800 meters, the turning radius must be a minimum of 4,000 meters, increasing in bad weather to 5,000 meters. When turning with a radius of 5 km, the rate of turn should be 3 degrees per minute. At the same time, it should be noted that the turning trajectory is strongly influenced by weather and the state of the sea. When turning, navigators are guided by the position of paravanes - towed streamer diverters.

On the right in the photo you can see the diverter (baravan, paravane), in the first photo it can be seen fixed on board.

In the survey mode, it is necessary to watch for other vessels and ask them to leave the area, not only because of the threat of a collision or damage to the streamers. With the close passage of another vessel, especially a large one, the quality of measurements is lost, because the integrity of the sound source is violated. Therefore, if it is not possible to reach an agreement with another vessel for any reason regarding the separation at a large distance, then it is advisable to disperse closer and faster. Because measurements will still be violated, and it is necessary to minimize contact time in order to save time for measurements.
It was noted that when passing offshore terminals where large tankers with a dynamic positioning system are loaded, even at a distance of 12 miles, the measurements will be actually destroyed, and you will have to make a second call when the tanker moves away from the berth.

If there is another seismological vessel in the area, then its operation may affect the operation of our vessel at a distance of about 80 miles. Therefore, in such cases, in order not to interfere with each other's work, they agree on a measurement schedule. For example, there were cases when 8 vessels were operating simultaneously in the North Sea.

According to project developer Ulstein, the hull shape patented as the Ulstein X-Bow, combined with a diesel-electric propulsion system, provides exceptional fuel efficiency, seaworthiness and speed. However, despite the commercial on youtube (comparative race of two boats in stormy conditions), the use of the concept here does not seem entirely justified. I proceed from a purely practical assessment and my vision, purely IMHO. Namely: my very meager knowledge of hull hydrodynamics tells me that the contours will work at speeds close to full, but in any way above average. The operating speed of this vessel in the measurement mode (the main purpose of the vessel) is 4-5 knots.
During my presence on board, at a speed of 4.5 knots, it swayed rather unpleasantly up to 5 degrees of heel, with very light seas and a wind of 7 m / s. The crew said that when working in the profile (taking measurements), with the equipment overboard, the wave hit the nose from below with the nose thrown up, with all the "ensuing" consequences for the least sea-resistant crew members.

The rowing plant includes two controllable pitch propellers (CPP). Each propeller is driven by a 4,800 kW asynchronous motor controlled by a water-cooled frequency converter. The transmission of rotation to the screw is carried out through a gearbox.

The vessel is equipped with bow and stern tunnel thrusters, as well as a retractable azimuth thruster (Compass Thruster) in the bow.

Vessel length 84 m, beam 17 m, maximum draft 6 m. Deadweight at maximum draft is 2,250 tons.
According to the specification, the ship's speed at 100% load on each screw, with a clean hull and calm water, should be approximately 18.5 knots.

The support vessel performs a rendezvous maneuver.

A support vessel is moored for bunkering operations while under way.

As soon as I choose a free minute to sort out the photos, I will make a photo tour of the ship.

Note. These photographs were obtained from the crew.