Picture of the Day
No, this is not a barge, it is a diving ship. It was originally conceived by John Houder the owner of the British shipping company Houlder Bros, as the ideal form of diving ship since its low profile reduced windage. It was built in 1984 at Swan Hunters, and was in service under various ownerships until 2017, when it was scrapped at Aliaga. It was said to have had a maximum transit speed of seven knots, but had good station keeping capabilities.
Here is the Guard Supplier, owned b a Norwegian company Had never heard of, and festooned with a variety of equipment which probably has something to do with resupplying seismic vessels. It was built in 1999 and was previously the Pacific Supplier, to the UT 719 design. Although it appears to be intended to carry out the same task as the Bourbon Petrel it is difficult to see what these small cranes and the pipes discharging water over the side are for. Edit - Thanks to those who have been in touch to tell me that this vessel has been adapted to carry out fish farming activities. There are interesting photos on the owner's site.
The Far Saracen is a UT 731 anchor-handler but in 2010 in Norway and now working offshore Australia. It is owned by the Solstad group after the amalgamation of some Norwegian companies. Like all offshore vessels in Australian waters it is crewed by local seafarers. I have always felt that these extremely versatile craft would be ideal for helping out in emergency situations and in the case of the Far Saracen at the town of Mallacoota, cut off from the rest of the country by raging bush fires, so it has proved. Absolutely unmentioned elsewhere is the support it provided to the population but it received a commendation on line from, I think, one of the members of the emergency services who were based on it. Click here to read it.