P&O Maritime vessel exits offshore sector for UK subsea protection role
The UK government has acquired P&O Maritime Logistics’ subsea construction vessel Topaz Tangaroa which will become the first of Britain’s two ships dedicated to safeguarding underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
The 2019-built ship, which DP World’s unit offloaded for a price tag of £65m ($80.3m), has already arrived at Cammell Laird shipyard on Merseyside for conversion into a multi-role ocean surveillance (MROS) vessel.
Military equipment will be installed and the ship painted grey before it enters service this summer. The 98-m-long vessel will be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) crewed by around two dozen RFA sailors, while around 60 Royal Navy specialists will operate the undersea surveillance systems and other survey and warfare systems when embarked.
The Topaz Tangaroa was ordered for a reported $57.5m by Topaz Energy and Marine, a subsidiary of P&O Maritime, at Norwegian shipbuilder Vard in 2015. The vessel has most recently been operating in the Pacific on subsea construction projects.
In October last year, Britain said it would acquire two specialist ships to protect its subsea assets following leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe. The acquisition of a second ship is currently in the concept phase.
