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Norwegian Crown Prince Tours Polarcus Asima-An Arctic Seismic Vessel

Published Jan 17, 2011 4:15 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Crown Prince Haakon of Norway toured POLARCUS ASIMA during a private visit to the Drydocks World – Dubai shipyard in the United Arab Emirates. The Crown Prince is currently on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates to strengthen economic relations between the two countries and support cooperation in renewable energy, oil, gas, environment and marine transportation fields.

The Crown Prince was accompanied on the onboard tour of POLARCUS ASIMA by Trond Giske, Minister of Trade and Industry Norway, Mrs. Ase Elin Bjerke, Ambassador of Norway to the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Erik Lahnstein, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Norway, and other distinguished guests and senior representatives of Polarcus and Drydocks World - Dubai.

Also accompanying the official delegation were senior representatives of Norwegian industry suppliers to Polarcus; ODIM ASA, Ulstein Group, Kongsberg Maritime and Det Norske Veritas (DNV), each company was involved in the construction or classification of the POLARCUS ASIMA, a 3D seismic vessel.

First True Arctic-ready 3D Seismic Vessel

POLARCUS ASIMA is a purpose-built 12 streamer 3D seismic vessel of the latest ULSTEIN SX134 design. It is the largest vessel in the company’s fleet with an overall length of 92m and a beam of 21m. It is the first true Arctic-ready 3D seismic vessel in the industry with an ICE-1A class notation from DNV, its double hull and has an advanced ballast water treatment system to eliminate risks of introducing invasive species into the Arctic ecosystem. The vessel has a maximum speed of 15 knots and is capable of deploying 12 streamers of 9,000m length at 100m separation.

“Asima” is a name derived from an Arabic female name meaning ‘protector,' which was given to reflect the vessel’s small environmental footprint and associated advanced features designed to safeguard the environment in the harshest of operating conditions.

Polarcus is a marine geophysical company specializing in high-end towed streamer data acquisition from Pole to Pole. Polarcus is launching a fleet of modern 3D seismic vessels using the innovative ULSTEIN X-BOW® design and incorporating advanced maritime technologies for improved operational efficiency with a reduced environmental footprint. For more information, visit www.polarcus.com