 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner | Olympic Ship Swire Seabed |
| Operator | Ocean Infinity |
| Port of registry | Bergen,  Norway |
| Builder | Kleven Verft AS |
| Launched | 2013 |
| Completed | 2014 |
| Identification | IMO number: 9682148 |
| Status | Operational |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | MT6022 MK II subsea support and construction vessel |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 115.4 m (379 ft) |
| Beam | 22 m (72 ft) |
| Draught | 7.135 m (23.41 ft) |
| Decks | 7 |
| Ice class | ICE-C |
| Installed power | 5 x Caterpillar 2230 ekW |
| Propulsion | Electric |
| Speed | 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) service 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) max |
Seabed Constructor is a multipurpose offshore vessel owned by Swire Seabed and contracted since December 2016 to British-owned hydrographic survey company Ocean Infinity, based in Houston, Texas, United States. [1] [2] Previously known as Olympic Athene and originally Olympic Boa, the ship was launched in 2013 and is flagged in Norway. [3] The ship is designed to conduct geophysical and geotechnical surveys of the seabed, support the construction or demolition of underwater structures, conduct trenching and excavation operations, and serve as a ROV platform for the company's autonomous underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles. The ship is 114 metres (374 ft) in length, with a 22 metres (72 ft) beam, a gross tonnage of 7,883, and deadweight tonnage of 6,480 metric tons. Its maximum speed is 14.1 knots (26.1 km/h; 16.2 mph). [4]
Seabed Constructor participated in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. [5] [6] It was operated by Ocean Infinity on a 90-day search contract for the missing aircraft; the mission ended unsuccessfully in mid-June 2018. [7]
Seabed Constructor was then contracted by the Argentine Navy to search for the missing submarine ARA San Juan. On 17 November 2018, Seabed Constructor found San Juan a year and two days after the submarine's disappearance. The submarine lies on the seabed at a depth of 920 metres (3,020 ft) below sea level. [8]
On 22 July 2019, the French government announced that drones launched from Seabed Constructor had found the French submarine Minerve, lost at sea in 1968. [9]
On 4 December 2019, search teams from Seabed Constructor located the wreckage of SMS Scharnhorst, the flagship of the German Empire's East Asia Squadron during World War I, at a depth of 1,610 m (5,280 ft), some 98 nmi (181 km; 113 mi) southeast of the Falkland Islands. [10]