[Varley]

Tom,

For us (not a million miles different from our involvement in Longbow - although considerably faster!) and our client, not specially over the top. The ship was a bit strange but not wildly sophisticated (diesel electric with synchronous motors, pony motor starts not electronic) and variable pitch. Kongsberg simplex DP marked the high point of her basic sophistication. The clever stuff was mobilised by the charterer. It was the considerable list of little things that mounted up against the owner. She was nothing like the displacement or more genuine sophistication of the Seaspread class Multirole Support vessels which would be more the idea of high grade Scandinavian technology.

The shipyards seemed to be a mixture of a family and communal village concern so the use of its fleet and the fire brigade I suspect was not on the balance sheet (the water between the town Hvide Sande could be raised as a last resort but she spent most of the first night out of the yards aground which distorted the main prop blades as well was discovering underpowering problems in the pony motor outfit).

How much of this could have been forestalled by the yard (the basic design had some considerable flaws, too). The Vikings have their problems too. Nordsovaerflet closed in 97.