Korean shipyard specialist SeaQuest Marine Project Management has successfully completed a major project overseeing the construction of one of the UK Ministry of Defense’s latest Naval Auxiliaries that will provide support to the new UK aircraft carriers and other British & NATO naval vessels.

On 12-January-2017, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and the UK Ministry of Defense (UK MOD) signed the Acceptance Off Contract for RFA Tidespring, the first in a series of 4 Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) vessels.  The 37,000 DWT tankers are being built to supply Royal Navy vessels around the world. RFA Tidespring will arrive in the UK this spring to undergo customization and armament work and is expected to enter into service in the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary later this year.

The MARS vessels feature advanced marine technology, including a highly flexible automated propulsion system with numerous different configurations, three abeam replenishment stations for diesel oil, aviation fuel and fresh water, an Integrated Platform Management System, a flight deck and helicopter hangar, as well as hundreds of independent compartments. The vessel can accommodate 108 persons.

SeaQuest has been engaged in this exciting project since 2013, overseeing the entire construction program, from steel cutting to completion. The SeaQuest supervision team included automation and electrical inspectors as well as machinery, piping, hull, ILS and coating inspectors and document controllers.

SeaQuest Managing Director and Project Manager, Jan Andersson, said, “I am hugely proud of the work undertaken by SeaQuest‘s highly skilled team of marine engineers and naval architects. The vessel achieved outstanding results in its performance tests. This was a hugely challenging hi-tech project that involved collaboration not only with DSME and the UK MOD, but also BMT Group, Lloyd’s Register, Frazer-Nash, Isherwoods, and A&P.”

SeaQuest Marine Project Management provides shipowners and maritime industry stakeholders with professional consultancy, project management and supervision services for their new building and conversion projects worldwide.

SeaQuest Marine Project Management was founded in 2003 and is registered in Hong Kong, with a branch office in Geneva and offices in Beijing and Athens. Our sister company, SeaQuest Ship-management, provides a full range of ship management and crewing services.

A successful shipbuilding project depends on experience in both new building and operation of the specific vessel type, attention to detail and knowledge of the selected shipyard. SeaQuest Marine Project Management offers an expert multinational team of naval architects, engineers, project managers and inspectors able to manage the project from technical specifications evaluation and review to final delivery, covering all the intermediate phases such as shipyard assessment, selection of equipment makers, plan approval, provision of specialist teams for construction supervision, commissioning and technical support to the ship’s crew. For more information, visit ww.sqmarine.com.

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