Bourbon Arctic: expansion into new markets

The name of this new BOURBON vessel says it all: scheduled for delivery in early 2016 from the Vard shipyard.

This AHTS (Anchor Handling Tug Supply) was specially designed for operations in arctic zones, and more specifically in deep offshore, where we know that there is a huge potential for development.

BOURBON is therefore adjusting its range of services to meet the requirements of clients and the changing offshore market.
With a length of 93.60 m, a bollard pull of 280 t and deck equipment supplied by Rolls-Royce (winches, cranes, etc.), the Bourbon Arctic will be in a position to perform anchor handling and towing operations for oil rigs located even in the remotes oil fields. With its design suited to extreme weather conditions and a reinforced hull classed Ice-1A, this vessel will be set to operate in even the most demanding situations.

Upon delivery, it will be ranked as the most powerful vessel in the BOURBON fleet. BOURBON thus adapts its services to market developments and clients’ needs. "The development of our fleet has always been closely tied to our anchor handling services" explains Rodolphe Bouchet, Vice President Business Management Marine Services. "As a generalist, we need to have very large capacity vessels in our fleet, for operations of a very complex type. With its technical specifications suited to the deep offshore market, the Bourbon Arctic will allow us to complement our range of services."

The shipmanager of this new-generation AHTS will be Bourbon Offshore Norway, which is already responsible for the 2 most powerful AHTS in the group's fleet, the Bourbon Surf and the Bourbon Borgstein.