Offshore

Australian research ship chartered out to Chevron and BP

An A$120m ship belonging to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, which was built to study marine science, has been chartered out to international energy giants Chevron and BP to help them search for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight.

The RV Investigator will spend two months working for the multinational corporations in the Southern Ocean.

The research vessel is funded for just half of each year by the federal government. To get more use of the ship, CSIRO said it is happy to make some extra cash by chartering the high tech ship to offshore players likely for seismic surveys for short periods, a move that has drawn criticism locally.

The ship was delivered last year from Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore. It is managed by ASP Ship Management.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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