TDI-Brooks vessel en route to its first offshore wind job after retrofit campaign

U.S.-headquartered TDI-Brooks has added a 2000-built research vessel to its fleet, which is currently on its way to kick off an offshore wind job after it had undergone a retrofit campaign.

The R/V Nautilus, formerly known as Nautical Geo, is currently on its way to the U.S. East Coast to provide support for offshore wind operations, following a six-month retrofit period in Las Palmas.

Equipped with the newly-acquired Geomiil Manta-200 CPT, which can be deployed through the Nautilus mid-ship moonpool, the system has the capability to penetrate the soil up to 40-50 meters, depending on its composition.

The 75-meter-long DP2 vessel is expected to be fully prepared for the first offshore wind program by early March.

“TDI-Brooks remains dedicated to the expanding offshore wind market and other scientific survey initiatives,” said Jim Brooks, President and CEO of TDI-Brooks.

According to TDI-Brooks, the vessel provides a wide range of offshore support, including subsea services, construction assistance, exploration, production, AUV, ROV, and diving support, and caters to military operations, scientific marine research, and survey mapping. 

Nautilus has a North American MCK-1240 upper forecastle deck on the starboard side, which includes a SWL 7.1-ton crane, and is equipped with Geomil Manta-200 CPT, Neptune 3K & 5K vibracorers, and a specially designed pneumatic vibracorer by TDI-Brooks, which are said to enable efficient and accurate geotechnical surveys and sampling.

The vessel, which offers 46 berths, is equipped with a Teledyne RESON full ocean depth multibeam echosounder (MBES) which allows for surveys up to approximately 2,500 meters of water depth, TDI-Brooks said.