Ocean services provider DeepOcean expands its service offering to the offshore renewables and oil and gas industries by entering into a time charter agreement for the multipurpose support vessel Glomar Supporter.
DeepOcean will utilise the Glomar Supporter to enhance its offering in survey, inspection and light IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair) markets to developers and operators of offshore wind farms and in the oil and gas sector.
“We already have a large fleet of offshore vessels, but we have actively been looking for smaller vessels that can provide an even more cost-effective offering, particularly in the offshore renewables space. We decided to seize the opportunity when we heard that the Glomar Supporter became available,” says Øyvind Mikaelsen, CEO of DeepOcean.
The Glomar Supporter will join DeepOcean’s extensive vessel fleet in January 2026 with its first operations planned in Europe. DeepOcean has chartered the vessel from Glomar Offshore B.V.
Built in 2009, the Glomar Supporter, which has a proven track record in safe and efficient operations, underwent an extensive rebuild and refurbishment in 2021. The 60-metre vessel is equipped with DP2 station keeping capabilities, a carrying capacity of around 1,395 tonnes DWT and a combined deck space of 497 square metres.
Additionally, the vessel features a main stern A-frame for the deployment and towing of multiple sensor types, including seismic equipment. The vessel also features a number of survey sensors and additional technologies, including multibeam echo sounders (MBE). The vessel has a dedicated launch area for geotechnical equipment and a mezzanine deck configured for a launch and recovery system (LARS), suitable for work-class ROV operations.
DeepOcean will mobilise one of its work-class ROVs (WROV) on the vessel. In addition, the company will consider mobilising an observation-class ROV (OROV).
“Survey, inspection and IMR work are growing segments of the offshore market. We look forward to providing our clients with this additional vessel capacity and service offering in this market,” says Robin Mawhinney, Managing Director of DeepOcean UK.
Operations are scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2026, following the completion of DeepOcean’s mobilisation of the vessel.