A schematic of the OCEA OSV 115 survey ship ordered by Nigeria. (OCEA)
French shipyard OCEA has confirmed that the Nigerian Navy has awarded it a contract to build a second hydrographic survey vessel.
It announced on 12 October that the new OSV 115 SC-WB survey vessel will be 35 m long, making it smaller than NNS Lana , the 60 m OSV 190 SC-WB it delivered to the Nigerian Navy earlier this year.
The OSV 115 is a new design that the company said would be equipped with multi- and single-beam echosounders, water sampling capability, a web laboratory, and a 5.6 m boat equipped to carry out surveys in shallow water. It will have a crew of 12, have a top speed of 12 kt, and a range of 3,000 n miles at 10 kt.
Nigerian Navy Commander Vice Admiral Az Gambo said on 15 August that a 35 m survey ship had been ordered but did not say which company would construct it.
The navy has said that the re-establishment of its hydrographic capability will enable it to contribute to the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans' (GEBCO's) Seabed 2030 project and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) synthesis project, helping to fulfil Nigeria's obligations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
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