Contract signed for 107m Support Vessel

Kleven, the largest Norwegian-owned shipyard to produce and equip advanced offshore Support Vessels (SV) based in Ulsteinvik, has announced a new contract for the construction of a 107m long-range expedition SV.

The vessel has been designed to operate in rough seas and includes a number of luxury features including a swimming pool, a helipad, a helicopter hangar and its own 21m tender, stowed at the bow.

“We find that ship owners like our design styles and value our considerable experience, which ranges from the design of service vessels to the oil and gas industry, to our ocean-going fishing vessels,” says Svein Rune Gjerde, CEO of Marin Teknikk, an independent ship design and engineering firm based in Dragsund.


Gjerde goes on to explain that the owner commissioned the studio a year ago after the client decided that they wanted a Norwegian vessel, built and designed by a Norwegian team. “It has been exciting to be able to utilise the know-how of our employees to develop a luxury vessel of this type, which is being constructed for a rather different use than the offshore vessels we usually work with on a daily basis.”

Having worked with the design firm in the past, CEO of Kleven, Ståle Rasmussen is keen to work with the team again. “We have developed numerous offshore vessels together and we always work well,” confirms Rasmussen. “This vessel is a good example of our ability to develop and build specialised vessels and prototypes.

“On this particular project, the owner chose us because of the quality we offer, the delivery times and the price, and we are delighted to have won this project based on this.”

Work on the vessel has already begun and is expected for delivery in December 2014. Once complete, the 107m vessel will be able to accommodate 60 people.

The shipyard declined to comment on whether the new build is a sign of a growing interest in large SVs and whether they had similar projects in the pipeline. However, with vessels such as Amel’s 67m Sea Axe Garcon, launched last year, and with another model expected in Spring 2014, we are likely to see more vessels similar to Kleven’s 107m entering the market in the future.

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