OREANDA-NEWS. September 22, 2011. At a festive ceremony in Sochi, on 16 September 2011, a new seismic exploration vessel called Vyacheslav Tikhonov was named for SCF Group, and a flag of Russian Federation was raised.

Russian PM Vladimir Putin and other high government and business officials took part in the ceremony.

The vessel is designed for geophysical exploration on the continental shelf of the Arctic and sub-Arctic seas, operating in harsh weather and ice conditions.

The ship is named after a prominent Soviet and Russian actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov, a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People’s Artist of the USSR. His unforgettable roles, especially the most famous acting as a Soviet spy Stirlitz in the TV series “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, are very well known in the country,

Immediately after the ceremony Vyacheslav Tikhonov started working under contract - seismic exploration work for the Tuapse Trough Project on behalf of NK Rosneft and ExxonMobil. The ship will be operated jointly by SCF and Sevmorneftegeofizika - one of the leading Russian seismic companies. The two companies participated together in the tender by Rosneft, for the implementation of marine seismic surveys on the continental shelf in the Black Sea, during 2011-2012.

Previously, SCF Group had acquired the ship under a bareboat charter agreement with Polarcus, one of the world’s leading companies specializing marine seismic exploration.

The high-tech X-bow 3D seismic exploration vessel was built in August 2011, and is the youngest of six existing vessels of this kind in the world. The vessel has modern equipment and several unique technical features. The hull, the bow and the stern of the vessel have a special form and the ship has eight seismometer cable assemblies, she also has optimised parameters for her diesel-electric propulsion system. These are technical solutions designed to maintain smooth operations at low temperatures, supported by the vessel’s enhanced ice-class and overall high safety standards.

During the ceremony a series of agreements were signed, including an agreement with United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) on further production of these kinds of vessels in Russia.

The vessel is included in the Russian Register of Ships, she flies the Russian flag and will be managed by a Russian crew of seafarers and seismic specialists. The technical management of the ship is run by SCF Novoship, (Novorossiysk), one of the oldest and most professional tanker companies in the world.

The addition of this modern ship, to Russia’s seismic survey fleet, will expand the range of services provided to oil and gas companies operating on the Russian continental shelf. It will also give the SCF-SMNG partnership access to the latest technologies for data collection and the use of a seismic fleet, with a special focus on Arctic operations. The new vessel will reduce the technological gap between Russian contractors and the leading international seismic survey companies.

This news is another example of how SCF is developing as a strong national offshore player, with extensive expertise and focus on operating in the Arctic and harsh environments.

Sovcomflot President & CEO Sergey Frank said:

“Strengthening our fleet with the addition of this seismic vessel is fully in line with SCF’s strategy targeted towards providing specialised shipping services for Russia’s continental shelf. It is an important step towards developing a closer partnership between SCF, SMNG and the consortium of Rosneft and ExxonMobil in the marine seismic segment. The Russian fleet and domestic marine geology will gain access to the latest technologies for data collection, and this undoubtedly will contribute to cutting the technological gap between Russian subcontractors and the world’s leading seismic survey companies. It promotes import substitution of services, whilst upgrading Russia’s ageing seismic fleet and equipment”.

Vessel dimensions:

Deadweight – 4,771 tonnes
Length overall – 84.2 metres
Breadth (moulded) – 17 metres
Crew – 22
Ice class – 1A
Streamers – 8