PGS’ new seismic vessel Ramform Tethys launched in Japan

Norwegian seismic company PGS celebrated the launching of the latest Ramform Titan-class seismic vessel, the Ramform Tethys at a ceremony in Nagasaki, Japan on March 17.

This newbuild enhances the Ramform Titan-class acquisition platform and sets the standard for seismic operations for the next 25 years, the company said in a statement.

The Ramform Tethys is PGS’ third Ramform Titan-class vessel, and the fourth vessel, the Ramform Hyperion, is due in a year’s time. Despite the lowest oil price in two decades, fleet renewal now is good news long-term for PGS and the industry, the company assured.

“With the increased power output and the back deck modifications we are enhancing the Ramform Titan-class acquisition platform further. Productivity, safety, stability and redundancy are the key benefits of these vessels. Their ability to tow many streamers gives high data quality with dense cross-line sampling and cost efficient acquisition with wide tows,” says Per Arild Reksnes, EVP Operations.

The delta-shaped vessel is 104 meters long with 70 meters at the stern. The back deck houses 24 streamer reels with 16 reels aligned abreast across the stern and 8 reels further forward, each one has capacity for 12 kilometers of dual-sensor streamer.

PGS says that this is a $285 million investment in the future of seismic. At the current market price, covering the cost may take a little longer than was the case for her predecessors but this ship has an arsenal of advantages in a competitive market, PGS says.

Jon Erik Reinhardsen, President and CEO of PGS states in a comment: “The Ramform Tethys further strengthens our fleet productivity and together with the other Ramform Titan-class vessels will enhance our competitive edge. In the current challenging market environment we also experience more demand for our best capacity and Ramform Tethys will add to PGS ultra-high-end value proposition.”

According to PGS, the Ramform Tethys will head for Europe, where several clients have indicated their interest in “our new flag ship”.

Offshore Energy Today Staff