Rovco grows its fleet to service offshore wind projects

Rovco, a UK provider of subsea robotics and integrated survey, has signed an initial three-year charter party agreement with Glomar Offshore for the multi-purpose support vessel Glomar Supporter, as part of its growth strategy within its site characterization business unit.

Rovco has pointed out that the charter agreement with Glomar Offshore marks a significant step in the expansion of the company’s offshore hydrographic, geophysical, and shallow geotechnical survey capabilities.

In response to high client demand in the offshore wind market, Rovco, working in collaboration with Glomar and marine design consultants Medea, will reconfigure the vessel to permanently carry an entire suite of survey sensors and equipment.

Upon the conclusion of dry docking in February 2023, the vessel is planned to be delivered to Rovco complete with a keel-mounted gondola, an array of deck equipment, and dedicated high-end survey and reporting office suites.

Craig Davis, Director of Site Characterisation at Rovco, said: “This agreement marks the continuation of a strong working relationship between Rovco and Glomar Offshore, as we adapt to support increasing client demand for turnkey integrated survey solutions across the offshore wind market. The Supporter will allow us to operate in a more efficient way for our customers, helping to accelerate the delivery of critical offshore wind projects.”

The Bristol-headquartered company said that it will mobilize a dedicated survey team onboard the Glomar Supporter to deliver a comprehensive package of site characterization solutions and specialized offshore survey projects, with a key focus on supporting the rapidly growing pipeline of offshore wind projects from its Aberdeen operational base, across ScotWind, the Southern North, Irish and Celtic Sea developments.

The UK company said that the gondola, designed and analyzed for performance by Medea, will contain a suite of permanently installed survey sensors including dual-head multi-beam configurations, with built-in roll and pitch stabilization for high-quality acquisition.

Rovco explained that the main deck will be reconfigured to feature a main stern A-Frame for the deployment and towing of multiple sensor types, including seismic equipment, as well as adding secondary deck handling equipment for the deployment of cone penetration test (CPT) and Vibrocorers to facilitate efficient sampling of in-situ soil conditions and taking advantage of the stable DP2 platform.

The entire package is designed to bring significant schedule efficiencies and reduce costs to clients.

Built in 2009, the Glomar Supporter underwent an extensive rebuild and refurbishment in 2021.

The 60-meter vessel is outfitted with DP2 station-keeping capabilities, a carrying capacity of around 1395 tons of deadweight tonnage (DWT), and a combined deck space of 497 square meters.

Klaas Weij, CEO of Glomar Offshore, added: “Combining our great cooperation with Rovco over the last seasons and our Group’s in-house vessel upgrade expertise, we are excited to embark on this long-term charter of our Glomar Supporter. As a company, we believe in the vast potential of the offshore renewables survey market and look forward to having Rovco onboard for the next years.”

This new deal between Rovco and Glomar Offshore marks the continuation of their collaboration after the companies signed the charter party agreement for the DP2 multipurpose support vessel Glomar Worker in June 2022.

In July 2022, Rovco continued with an expansion of its fleet with a charter agreement for Vroon Offshore Services’ offshore support vessel VOS Star for the delivery of offshore wind projects.