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tel: 360-293-8488 email: sales@psrope.com Spectra®is a registered trademark p/AlliedSignal Inc. SPECTRA Performance Materia* J SPECTRA FIBER • "I - Puget Sound Rope www.psrope.com 12x12 Investment in Design Based in each case on a 12-cylinder Mitsubishi Vee engine driving a 650 kW generator, the four genset modules will be arranged on deck, feeding electrical energy to a pair of propulsion motors. The genset modules will be put together at the Spikkestad production plant of Norwegian company Diesel Power. It is anticipated that the vessel's regular ser- vice schedule, on a characteristically short fjord crossing, will require just two aggregates to be fired-up, leaving one engine as a standby, and a fourth under maintenance in a rolling program whereby machinery upkeep can be undertaken without prejudicing vessel availability. Niche know-how Pivotal to the quantification of new oilfields and, increasingly, to the fuller exploitation of existing or marginal accumulations, offshore seismic survey has become an intensely-competitive niche business in its own right. Perfor- mance levels set by the demands and expectations of the client industry have been driven still higher by the operators' need to achieve unprecedented produc- tivity from costly vessels incorporating multi-streamer arrays and the most tech- nologically advanced data handling capabilities. The 1999 first-half has witnessed a considerable strengthening in the fleet purpose-designed for the task of seismic survey, undertaken in often hostile envi- ronmental conditions and in an ever- more demanding commercial market. The latest surge of investment has been dominated by Norwegian yards and equipment suppliers, underscoring the range and depth of the Norwegian mar- itime industrial infrastructure. At a time when the shipbuilding indus- try's forward workload gives rise to immediate-term concerns over produc- tion continuity, the clutch of recent deliveries of new-generation seismic ships testifies to the reserves of design and build know-how and scope of indigenous equipment and machinery supply available on Norway's Atlantic fringe. While the U.S. influence on the busi- ness is manifested in the commissioning of the 16-streamer Western Trident from Ulstein Verft, Norwegian-based opera- tors PGS and Geco-Prakla have bol- stered capacity with 20-streamer new- builds from the Langsten and Mjellem & Karlsen yards, respectively. The designs reflect the trend in demand towards wider tows, bigger arrays and longer streamers in 3-D exploration work, and the requirement for dense blanket coverage for the high- resolution 3-D market. These remark- able ships embody efficient hulls formed to accommodate the aft-deck concentra- tion of the tools of the trade and to pro- vide stable working platforms in the most rigorous sea conditions. They have been engineered for high maneuverabil- ity and for the minimum noise and vibration interference with the central role of data gathering. The industry's ability to demonstrate the kind of innovation and technological capability which bears directly on front- line economics is evident in the fact that the cost of undertaking 3-D seismic sur- vey has been progressively cut from some $25,500 per sq. km in 1990 to around just $2,000 per sq. km now. In addition, survey assignment time has typically been cut from about two years to barely two months or less over the JQ Circle 278 on Reader Service Card At Vancouver Shipyards and Victoria Shipyards we work around the clock to repair your vessel and send it back to sea. When it comes to ship construction, repair and maintenance, we're the busiest and best on the Pacific coast. Around the clock, any day of the year. Call us. VANCOUVER SHIPYARDS 50 Pemberton Avenue North Vancouver, B.C. Canada V7P 2R2 Telephone: (604) 988-6361 Fax: (604) 990-3290 www.vanship.com VICTORIA SHIPYARDS 825 Admirals Road Victoria, B.C. Canada V9A2P1 Telephone: (250) 380-1602 Fax: (250) 995-6599 www.vicship.com A. Washington Company Circle 301 on Reader Service Card Puget Sound Rope introduces the 12 x 12, our newest braided hawser. Because it is composed of 12 strands of Plasma™12-Strand rope, this patented construction makes the 12 x 12 the first truly repairable braided rape. And that saves you not only time, but money. Plasma™ 12 x 12 has been proven to be 50% stronger than conventional Spectra® fiber rope, yet is 20% lower in cost. Customers around the world depend upon our expertise in rope performance and safety. PSR can help in your particular application of synthetic rope. Contact your distributor or PSR today for specific information about how we can help you.