DOF Subsea, a subsidiary of the Norwegian company DOF, sold their 36 year old subsea support vessel SKANDI INSPECTOR back to the end of 2015.
The vessel built by Hatlo Verksted-Ulsteinvik, Norway, in 1979 as TENDER CAPTAIN and in January 1986 she was sold to Farstad Offshore and renamed FAR CAPTAIN. DOF purchased the vessel in 1989 under the name of SKANDI CAPTAIN and renamed her as SKANDI INSPECTOR. During 1999 she was rebuilt as a diving support vessel.
During January 2008, the Fugro ROV support vessel was undertaking ROV operations to locate and survey subsea telecommunication cables that cross the proposed GALSI (Gasdotto Algeria Sardegna Italia) gas pipeline route that was a planned natural gas pipeline from Algeria to Sardinia and further northern Italy at various points along its length. Cable crossing investigations required even more precise survey sensors and techniques to gather sufficient data to design pipeline installation in close proximity to an active communications cable. SKANDI INSPECTOR was equipped with two deepwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) fitted with a variety of survey instruments including forward looking sonar, underwater video cameras, a bathymetry suite and a high resolution multi-beam echo sounder.
On 18 January 2008 SKANDI INSPECTOR was surveying approximately 20nm off the South coast of Sardinia gathering data at the location of the Artemis cable crossing location. The large wreck previously detected by the Geo Prospector’s AUV was re-observed and the ROV work scope was expanded to include an initial visual examination of the vessel. The wreck was first located using the ROV mounted scanning sonar. Then the suite of video cameras carried by the underwater vehicle was trained on the wreck to learn more about the characteristics of the sunken vessel. During this initial ROV visual survey various video images and still photographs were obtained, confirming that the wreck was indeed a battleship, probably dating from WW1. Records showed that the French battleship Danton was sunk in the vicinity in March 1917. The discovery was provisionally identified as the wreck of the battleship Danton and particulars of its location and disposition were passed to the Italian, French and UK Hydrographic Departments.
SKANDI INSPECTOR is 80.8 meters long, has two moon pools and a 1,077 meter crane, and she can accommodate 64 persons.
Below images are of the vessel back to March 2008 leaving Valletta from Dwq 4 Wharf –
And below leaving Valletta back to January and February 2009 –
Photos by Capt. Lawrence Dalli. Do not use these images without my permission. © All rights reserved. Malta Ship Photos & Action Photos – www.maltashipphotos.com
