Dutch offshore support vessel operator Van Stee Offshore has signed a contract with Damen Shipyards to deliver an ultra-shallow draught multipurpose vessel.
The 80 m long vessel, dubbed Multibuster 8020, is the first class that combines elements of Damen’s multi-cat and shoalbuster workboat classes to create a large-scale platform capable of undertaking a wide variety of projects in waters as shallow as three metres.
The vessel can serve offshore renewables and oil and gas sectors, performing duties ranging from anchor handling and towing to ROV operations, cable laying and beach pulling, and is expected to be in demand for nearshore operations.
“As a specialist in shallow draft operations the Multibuster will give us new capabilities and opportunities to support our clients in the offshore energy sector. Its low emissions profile will additionally be valued by our partners working on wind and other renewables,” said Arjan van Stee, director of Van Stee Offshore.
Van Stee Offshore currently operates a fleet of three multipurpose workboats active in the North Sea, Taiwan and Angola. The basis of the Multibuster design, said to be the brainchild of Damen CEO Arnout Damen, was developed in-house, and its construction got underway at Albwardy Damen Sharjah in the UAE in 2020. It will bolster Van Stee’s fleet in 2023 and be named Zwerver V.
