BOURBON celebrates delivery of 500th vessel
Published by David Bizley,
Editor
Oilfield Technology,
BOURBON is celebrating the delivery of its 500th vessel, placing the group at the head of the world's largest fleet of vessels operated for the offshore marine services industry.
This delivery validates the company's strategic decision to focus on achieving economies of scale through standardisation and construction in series, thus offering its customers a reliable innovative fleet with optimised service quality: "We are delighted with the delivery of this 500th vessel, which reflects our commitment to provide the means to continue our development and to best serve the needs of our clients. We are now realising the fruits of seeds sown over several years when we invested in a series of standardised vessels to achieve a global leadership position in our market." asserts Gael Bodénès, Chief Operating Officer.
With a fleet of 500 vessels averaging 6.3 years of age, BOURBON operates worldwide with over 11 000 employees providing local services through 28 operating affiliates who ensure commercial and contractual relationships, as well as local technical support on-site, close to operations. By year-end 2015, the delivery of the 34 vessels under construction will make the fleet even larger and better able to serve the most demanding customers.
BOURBON'S standardisation policy is best illustrated by the success of its series of vessels:
The Bourbon Liberty series: By the end of 2014, the fleet will include 111 next-generation Bourbon Liberty vessels offering high standards of quality and performance. They have a proven client track record, thanks to their embedded technologies such as the class 2 dynamic positioning system, backup equipment, cargo capacity and the optimisation of fuel consumption.
The Bourbon Evolution 800 series: With the delivery of the 500th vessel, BOURBON currently has 6 Bourbon Evolution vessels in operation (and 4 more under construction) in this 1st series of IMR vessels positioned within the deepwater offshore market. With a class 3 dynamic positioning system, these highly reliable vessels have outstanding maneuverability and their backup equipment guarantees optimum safety.
The seismic support vessel series: BOURBON has pioneered the 1st series of 6 seismic support vessels, custom designed for CGG that allows the provisioning of fuel, equipment and personnel to seismic vessels ensuring the safety of their operations. 4 vessels are already fully operational.
The Bourbon Explorer 500 series: This is a new series of 20 PSV vessels launched in 2014, 4 of which are already in operation. Their cargo capacity is a real added value, as they have been optimised to supply modern drilling equipment with a large carrying capacity of slurry (drilling lubricant) of 1500 m3. They can also carry up to 50 people, offering the customer additional accommodation capacity on the oil fields.
As part of its growth strategy, BOURBON not only focuses on construction in series, but also on centralising maintenance and personnel’s training via a structured industrial organisation.
BOURBON Repair Centers: Pooling the fleet's technical support, carried out by the Group at the local level makes it possible to provide all subsidiaries with the necessary technical specialists and parts inventories, with 6 BOURBON Repair Centers deployed close to their operations.
Standard exchange: Thanks to its Plug & Play standard exchange system BOURBON is able to replace all of its propulsion units with new or reconditioned components, thus eliminating the need for the vessel to remain in the repair center. Standard replacements reduce repair time to the strict minimum.
BOURBON Training Centers: BOURBON's 15 Training Centers contribute to standardizing the company's worldwide training efforts for all crews. As the fleet becomes more and more standardised, specific training programmes have been put together to perfectly meet the safety requirements and the quality of service provided to the customer.
The vessels standardization policy and centralization of maintenance allow BOURBON teams to ensure customers operational continuity as well as achieving high levels of technical availability of 94.5% in 2013.
Adapted from a press release by David Bizley
Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/26062014/bourbon_celebrates_delivery_of_500th_vessel/
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