John Newman
The Bunker Group
First time I saw a photo (many years ago) of these type of Offshore Support Vessels, I thought they were real ugly ducks!Would probably make a good R&D and Trg Platform for unmanned systems, a lot more room, better facilities, accommodation etc than trying to use an OPV or a MFU.
But then, also many years ago, I was down at Garden Island (FBE) and saw one in the flesh close up, was either Ocean Protector or Ocean Shield.
I then realised they were designed for a purpose, heli pad mounted high up over the bow, very large rear deck/work area, and large heavy cranes over that deck area too.
On top of that they are very big girls, 100m+, 6000t-8000t, built for tough demanding conditions.
For a ship that size they appear to be relatively cheap (second hand, but not too old).
Their future replacements can be built here (there were plans in the 2020 DSP, for one to be replaced by a ship built at Henderson).
Anyway, if they do the job, and do it on the cheap, fine by me.