Statoil (U.K.) Limited has awarded a contract to Aberdeen-based Sentinel Marine Limited to provide a new multi role Emergency Response & Rescue Vessel (ERRV) to support operations on the Mariner field on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Sentinel Marine owns and operates offshore support vessels in the oil and gas marine industry.

The new 65 meter ship, to be named "Mariner Sentinel", will be custom built for Statoil and provide emergency cover, oil spill response preparedness and tanker assist capabilities for the Mariner field.

The ERRV contract with Sentinel Marine has a fixed duration of five years, starting fro July 2016, and also includes five one-year extension options.

The Mariner field, located approximately 150 kilometers east of the Shetland Isles, is currently under development, with production start-up planned for 2017. Hook-up and commissioning is expected to start in 2016.

"Mariner Sentinel" is expected to be delivered early in 2017. From the summer of 2016 and until the new vessel is ready for operation, Sentinel Marine will provide another ERRV for emergency cover on Mariner.

Statoil is the operator of the Mariner field with 65.11 percent equity. Co-venturers are JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited (28.89 percent) and Dyas Mariner Ltd. (6 percent).