Reach Subsea preparing fleet for ‘strong market development’

Reach Subsea has entered into an agreement with Volstad Maritime for the use of the subsea vessel Deep Cygnus as an ‘important step in the long-term fleet planning strategy’.

The agreement was signed for a period of four years, with an option to extend for one year.

According to Reach Subsea’s CEO Jostein Alendal, the company has entered a phase of strong market development for subsea services and is securing capacity for the coming years with Deep Cygnus, during the transition to more unmanned operations with its Reach Remote concept.

“Deep Cygnus is a vessel that fits nicely into our focus markets. The vessel has a solid track record within the renewables segment, which we intend to use as a door opener for selling subsea services to the same clients. Volstad Maritime is a new supplier to us, but we have been very pleased with what we have seen so far on the vessel and within the organisation”, Alendal explained.

The commercial terms of the charter agreement are confidential between the parties but are structured in a way that enables Reach to offer a high-quality subsea service to its clients, the company said.

The vessel will be installed with launch and recovery systems (LARS) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) prior to delivery to Reach Subsea.

Additionally, battery installation on the vessel is scheduled during the winter of 2023/2024 as reduced carbon footprint is said to be a high priority for Reach Subsea.

Under the agreement, Reach will mobilise the vessel during February/March 2023 and use the vessel on its own projects for inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) and light construction within the oil & gas and renewables sectors.

The deal with Volstad Maritime is an important step in the long-term fleet planning strategy for Reach, which aims to have a good mix of manned and unmanned vessels that will serve its customers efficiently.

The first two in a series of Reach Remote unmanned surface vessels (USVs), which will serve as mobile power banks, data centres and communication modules for ROVs will be delivered by Kongsberg Maritime.

The USVs will be dedicated to surveying, inspection, and light repair operations and are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2023.