Developed for swallow river operation, the two VARD 9 21 design vessels are scheduled for delivery to the Dubai-based OSV operator in Q2 of 2018 for an aggregate cost of $40m.
The 123m loa by 16.5m carriers will be operated by Topaz through a consortium led by Blue Water Shipping for the end-client Tengizchevroil to transport modules through the Russian waterways to oilfields in Kazakhstan. They are designed to carry high deck loads of up to 1,800 tonnes.
One of the additional vessels will be built at Vard Braila in Romania and the other at Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam.
At the announcement of the original design and build contract for the first 15 of the now 17-vessel order in May, Topaz ceo René Kofod-Olsen said: “Vard’s longstanding shipbuilding traditions, cutting-edge innovation and technology perfectly complement Topaz’s reputation for providing quality and bespoke services to meet our client’s needs.”
Topaz provides OSV solutions to the global energy industry with primary focus on the Caspian, Middle East, West Africa and subsea operations in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico. It operates a fleet of 100 offshore support vessels.
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