India's Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) signed a contract for the high tech Buoy Tender Vessel (BTV) for Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL), Noida on 10 Aug 2012.
CSL has been making a mark in the high end offshore vessel segment and has set its sights on niche segments like seismic vessels, Diving Vessels & Drill Vessels. Being a highly specialized and high Tech vessel, the BTV is expected to give CSL considerable exposure and expertise in achieving the above vision.
The Contract documents of the ship were signed by Capt A M Surej, Director General, on behalf of DGLL and Mr. P .Vinayakumar, Director (Technical) on behalf of Cochin Shipyard, in the presence of Cmde. K. Subramaniam, CMD, Capt R S Sundar, Director (Operations) and other senior officials from CSL, DGLL, MMD-Kochi and IRS.
The vessel is of Rolls-Royce UT 755 S Design and is certified under the Rules and Regulations of Indian Register of Shipping. This 71.2 x 16.0 Meter vessel is a high end BTV equipped with 35T Tool Crane and a helicopter deck with D-value of 16 meters.
The vessel is also equipped with 2 Nos of 2000 KW Diesel Engines and 2 Nos of Controlled pitch propeller. In order to ensure better maneuverability the vessel is equipped with 2 Nos. of Bow thrusters and 1 Nos. of Stern Thruster of 590 kW capacities each and also have the capability of Fire Fighting class I. The vessel is equipped with SONAR to locate and mark wrecks up to a water depth of 40m and has accommodation facility for 32 persons.
This multipurpose vessel is used for transporting and placing buoys in positions at deeper depths, recovering buoys and their moorings for examination and overhaul, attending on their lighting equipment, Towing and mooring of light vessels, distress management etc. in areas with strong currents in the range of 6 to 8 knots.
Vessel is equipped with state of the art Navigation and communication devices, ECDICS and mapping devices. This vessel is to replace the existing vessel M.V. Pradeep which is in service with DGLL for last 25 years.