UT 712 and UT 734 were designed after the change in weight regulations
resulting from the Oslo Convention of 1993. Now it is not the tonnage
that determines the size of the crew, but safety judgements. Even
harbour fees are calculated on the basis of the ship's gross tonnage.
The UT 712 also represented a milestone in that its design was intended
to give improved de-icing. This helped to set the standard for Det
Norske Veritas (DNV) de-icing classification.
A new milestone came that same year with the UT 725, the first
ship that Rolls-Royce knows of which was constructed for wellhead
intervention. The ship Big Orange XVIII, owned by Wilhelmsen
Offhore Service Norway, was specially built to bring up the last
remaining oil from the wellhead.
The mid-1980s saw the design of a series of platform supply vessel
(PSV) variations, adapted to the specific waters in which they were
to operate. In 1984 and 1985, for example, a series of PSV ships
of the types UT 714 and UT 724 were ordered by ONGC in India.
UT 718 is a particularly advanced design, constructed with four
separate engine rooms as a safety measure. If one of the engine
rooms becomes flooded, the ship will list no more than 10 degrees.
It is also designed for the dry evacuation of oil rig crews using
a gondola system. The ships were chartered by the oil company Mobil
for operations in the North Sea Statfjord field. The subsequent
UT 716 and UT 722 were also designed as "Standby Safety Support"
vessels.
UT 743 and UT 747 were both designed for seismic research. A further
development for this area, the UT 753, was delivered to Western
Atlas International in 1993. Seismic research requires the ships
involved to operate very quietly.
A great many PSVs have been built to the UT 745 design in the period
from 1992 until the present day.
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