Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) will be a fuel option for the recently launched Fugro Quest, a hybrid-ready geotechnical vessel developed for deepwater operations. The 86.2m x 19.7m ship is intended for surveys of potential offshore sites, with a special focus on soil sampling and analysis. The ship commences work this month at the site of Vattenfall’s forthcoming 1.8GW Norfolk Vanguard wind farm – construction of which will begin in 2023.
Fugro says that the vessel can capture high-quality geotechnical data from 2,000m below sea level. In addition to onboard lab facilities and coring systems, the vessel will be equipped with deepwater technology including Fugro’s Seacalf Mk V DeepDrive system (used for soil penetration) and Wison Mk V EcoDrive system (enabling in situ soil sampling). Gathered data can be uploaded to the cloud for real-time analysis.
Fugro Quest draws 6.2m and has a gross tonnage of 4,598tonnes. Built with 16 single and 20 double cabins, the vessel also features a hospital, a fitness room, a day room and a 3.1m x 3.1m moon pool. The powertrain has the capacity for four 2,145kW main engines, and the ship is fitted with a single, 1,050kW bow tunnel thruster and two 883kW retractable thrusters. Onboard tankage accommodates 1,357m3 of fuel, 1,399m3 of fresh water and 2,560m3 of ballast water. The vessel is equipped with three 3tonne-capacity cranes and a 1tonne store crane, as well as a waterjet-propelled rescue boat and six Viking-manufactured life rafts.
Dennis Koenen, Fugro’s service line director for geotechnics in Europe and Africa, says that the launch of Fugro Quest “is fully aligned with our path to net zero operations by 2035”.
