.jpg) MVOceanic Viking inFremantle Harbour in March 2010 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  Australia | |
| Name | MVOceanic Viking |
| Owner | P&O Maritime Logistics |
| Operator | P&O Maritime Logistics |
| Builder | Flekkefjord Slipp & Maskinfabrikk,Flekkefjord, Norway |
| Launched | 1996 |
| Out of service | June 2010 |
| Identification | |
| History | |
 Isle of Man | |
| Name | European Supporter |
| Owner | P&O Maritime Logistics |
| Operator | P&O Maritime Logistics |
| Port of registry | Douglas, Isle of Man |
| Builder | Flekkefjord Slipp & Maskinfabrikk |
| Yard number | 961 |
| Launched | 17 February 1996 |
| Identification | |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics[2] | |
| Class & type | DnV + 1A1 Cable Laying Vessel |
| Tonnage | 9,075 GT |
| Length | 105.6 m (346 ft) |
| Beam | 22 m (72 ft) |
| Draught | 6.83 m (22.4 ft) |
| Propulsion | 2 x 3,560 kW (4770 hp) at 660 rpm |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 25 crew + up to 50 Customs and Fisheries officers. |
| Armament | 2 ×.50 caliber machine guns in customs service |
| Notes | Former offshore oil pipeline layer and cable layer |
European Supporter was a vessel that performed a number of roles during its career. Built in 1996 as the offshore supply vesselViking Lady for Norwegian shipping companyEidesvik Shipping, the ship was converted into acable layer in 2000 and renamedOceanic Viking. It was chartered to theAustralian Customs Marine Unit throughP&O Maritime Logistics from 2004 to 2010. In 2011, it was renamedEuropean Supporter and transferred to the United Kingdom.
The ship was built in 1996 for Norwegian shipping companyEidesvik Shipping as an offshore supply vessel and namedViking Lady.[citation needed] The vessel is 105.6 metres (346 ft) long and has a gross tonnage of over 9,000.[3]
In 2000, the ship was converted to acable layer, renamedOceanic Viking, and used for layingoptic fiber cables between Europe and North America.[4][5]
In 2004,Oceanic Viking was converted to an armed patrol vessel andbareboat chartered toP&O Maritime Logistics, who operated the ship for theAustralian Customs Marine Unit.[3][6] The vessel was primarily assigned to patrols of Australia's southern offshore territories for illegal fishers, particularly those seekingPatagonian toothfish, but was also deployed on other border protection and patrol operations around Australia.[3] While chartered,Oceanic Viking wasflagged as an Australian vessel, and was operated by a 60-strong crew, including Customs andFisheries personnel, along with civilians.[3][6]Oceanic Viking was fitted with two.50 calibre machine guns,[3] making it the first Australian-flaggedmerchant vessel to be armed in peacetime.[7]
In early September 2005,Oceanic Viking intercepted a 2,000 GT Cambodian vessel found poaching in theSouthern Ocean.[8] Later that month, the ship apprehended three Indonesian vessels illegally fishing near the Northern Territory'sWessel Islands; one of the vessels failed to stop when ordered, and one ofOceanic Viking's machine guns was used to firewarning shots.[8]
In October 2006,Oceanic Viking traveled 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) in eight days to answer a medical distress call from theKerguelen Islands.[9]
In December 2007, the Australian government tasked theOceanic Viking with monitoringJapanese-flagged vessels involved inwhaling in the Southern Ocean.[10] During the seven-week surveillance exercise, personnel aboardOceanic Viking filmed Japanese whalers and their activities to gather evidence for possible legal action.[11] The machine guns were secured below deck during the surveillance mission.[12] During the deployment, twoSea Shepherd Conservation Society protesters who boarded the whaling shipYūshin Maru No. 2 were transferred toOceanic Viking after being detained by the Japanese.[11] The Australian government regarded the operation as successful,[13] but it was criticised by some political commentators, such asDennis Shanahan, as not having been effective in countering Japanese whaling, and potentially harmingJapanese-Australian relations.[14]
In October 2009,Oceanic Viking was involved in an operation to apprehend 78 Sri Lankanasylum seekers and move them to an Australia-funded immigration detention centre on the Indonesian island ofBintan for processing.[15] The asylum seekers were taken to Indonesia but refused to disembark until 17 November, after a preferential processing deal was agreed upon.[16] The 78 asylum seekers were transferred to Indonesian detention, and after a month, were determined to be refugees by theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and resettled in several countries.[16][17] While travelling back to Australia,Oceanic Viking intercepted a boat on 3 December carrying 53 suspected asylum seekers and four crew off theAshmore Islands; the 50th asylum seeker vessel to be intercepted in Australian waters in 2009.[18]
Oceanic Viking was taken out of service in June 2011.[19] It was replaced by the chartered offshore supply ship MVSkandi Bergen which was renamedACVOcean Protector.Oceanic Viking subsequently became the UK-flagged MVEuropean Supporter.[20]
TheEuropean Supporter was fitted out atA&P Tyne, so she would be able to install power cables between wind turbines to take advantage of the rapidly expanding offshore renewables market in the UK and Europe. A 7 m (23 ft) longabrasion resistant steel chute was installed onto the vessel's stern, from which cables could be lowered onto the sea bed. Other work included a major overhaul of the generators, modifications to the steelwork inside the hangar accommodating theROVs and to the switchboard, electrical repairs and refurbishment of the pumps. TheEuropean Supporter has the capacity to accommodate 5,000 tons of power cable in two static tanks, using a newly installed power cable loading arm.[21]
Media related toIMO 9126584 at Wikimedia Commons