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Armada 78-02 – a sign of the ships to come?

Right at the end of November appeared what looked like the shape of things to come in offshore support vessels. When the first such ships appeared in the South Esk in the early 1970s they too raised eyebrows as to their profile, writes John Aitken.

They looked somewhat futuristic with all accommodation, wheelhouse etc up front with a wide open after deck for supplies such as a range of pipe and drilling equipment unlike conventional cargo ships. They also carried a number of bulk tanks for drilling mud, cement, fuel and water below the main deck.

The name Armada 78-02 seemed unusual containing a mix of letters and digits. Not unique, as the Big Orange XVIII carried a similar form of title over her 30-plus years in and out of the port. In this case the Armada referred to her owners, the 78 to her length in metres and the 02 as she is the second vessel in a series of eight.

In 2023 the first ship in the series, arrived in Norway at Vard Soviknes after her maiden voyage from Vietnam. Described as technically enabled, and lean crewed, the Vard shipbuilding group has reportedly partnered the Ocean Infinity organisation to design and build these vessels which will be environmentally friendly and can be powered by renewable energy sources. This is expected to be in close co-operation and could take place between Vard and various partners as technology advances in marine fuels and propulsion systems.

Details of the Armada 78-02 are, port of registry Singapore, built by Vard at Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and 1490-ton deadweight.

The Armada 78 class is a 78-metre steel-hulled DP2 multirole vessel designed to deliver geophysical service, geotechnical sampling and maintenance and inspection, maintenance and repair services. The Ocean Infinity fleet consists of over 30 vessels covering six classes, designed to reduce emissions through the use of robotic technologies. The fleet is delivering the next step in offshore safety.

Armada vessels have removable bulwarks in order to allow over the stern operation thus widening their work scope. There is also a moonpool and attached recovery system on board. Future propulsion units and fuels are catered for with two large tank spaces included in the design.

Eems Rover, another recent arrival, was assembled by Sainty Jiangdu shipyard, another product of a Far East shipyard but in China with owners said to be located in Werkendam in The Netherlands. Wilson Drogheda, a standard coaster of the Wilson fleet, out of a shipyard in central Europe was berthed on the South Quay for ease of discharging her cargo before exiting the port. Like many similar ships she had been built by Slovenske Lodenice at Komarno, Slovakia

The Dutch-flag Eendracht, at 105 metres, also berthed at the South Quay. Built in 2009 by Partner Shipyard at Szczecin, Poland and designed to transport awkward and indivisible cargoes such as wind turbine towers, blades etc and also luxury yachts. Following later, was the London-registered Eastern Vanquish and the Dutch-flag RDJ Johanna, homeported at Rotterdam.