A wave of renewed investment approaching the deep waters offshore Brazil has rekindled demand for new, highly-specialized vessels.
Underwater service providers play a major role in maintaining offshore assets by performing diving operations and remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) surveys. Brazilian operator Belov Engenharia Ltda. is among those that serve this space, having performed work for the Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras for several years.
Understanding this new demand and preparing for the tenders to come, Belov decided to build a pair of dive support vessels (DSV) at its own fabrication facility in Salvador. It will also operate the two new vessels.
Belov engaged Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. to prepare the contract design package of the new vessels, to be named Belov Humaitá and Belov Amarlina. The DSVs will be RAlly 4000s, fitted with a dynamic positioning system (DP2), diesel electric propulsion plant driving water jet propulsors and bow thrusters. The vessels are to be certified as a special diving support vessel suitable for unrestricted vavigation, classed by RINA.
The RAlly 4000 is engineered to be fitted with an ROV launch and recovery system (LARS), an aft mounted A-frame to operate the diving bell, a decompression chamber to support the divers, and more spacious crew quarters. All of this will be incorporated within a gross tonnage under 500 GRT.
Waterjets are used to ensure diver safety. Because waterjets are typically used on higher speed vessels, extensive self-propelled CFD analysis was performed in-house by Robert Allan Ltd. to verify resistance and thrust at the slower speeds that the DSVs will operate at.
Belov Humaitá and Belov Amarlina particulars
Length overall: 41 meters
Beam: 10.75 meters
Speed: 12 knots
Crew: 38 (including divers)