Norway: Naming Ceremony for PSV Vestland Mira Owned by Vestland Offshore

Last Friday “Vestland Mira”, owned by the shipping company Vestland Offshore, was named in Balestrand in the Norwegian county of Sogn and Fjordane. Only seven minutes after the naming ceremony, the Havyard-designed vessel “Vestland Mira”, went straight into work on a contract in The North Sea.

“We have started on a contract with SGS, a company operating within seismic nodes on the seabed in the North Sea. The vessel is going straight to work only minutes after the naming ceremony is over. It is first going back to the shipyard for completion of SGS̀̀̀̀̀̀̀̀s seismic equipment on the deck at stern, before heading out to sea. During its mission in the North Sea there will be work on a brand new seismic technology, and it is of course a strategically important assignment for us”, Director Per Vidar Hille of Vestland Offshore said on the day of the naming ceremony.

The PSV vessel is of a Havyard 832 L design. “Vestland Mira” is number 15 in the increasingly longer line of 832 designed vessels that Havyard has delivered. The vessel is contracted by Vestland PSV AS, a fully-owned subsidiary of Vestland Offshore AS. The shipping company is based in Austevoll and is already operating five vessels within offshore and seismic operations.

”Havyard has carried out very solid work when constructing this vessel, both technically and esthetically“, says the Vestland Director speaking of their new ship, while he adds:

”The whole process has gone excellently and we have received a vessel we are very pleased with. We have had a good professional relationship with Havyard all the way.”

Hille is particularly impressed with Havyard̀̀̀̀̀̀̀̀s own shipyard in Leirvik in Norway.

“Being able to run such a demanding business in this area, where you would think that logistics and access to qualified personnel is a challenge, is simply incredible to me. I am really impressed by Havyard Ship Technology in Leirvik, a shipyard that continuously delivers vessels.”

NEW BRIDGE CONSOLES

“Vestland Mira” is also outfitted with Havyard̀̀̀̀̀̀̀̀s brand new bridge console design and Hille underlines that this new bridge system has won plaudits from both the shipping company and SGS as employers.

”The bridge consoles are brand new and we are the first vessel using these consoles. We are delighted with this and have great expectations for this concept during operations with complex maneuvering”, says Per Vidar Hille.

DEMANDING INDUSTRY

Yard Director at Havyard Ship Technology in Leirvik, Trygve Solaas, is happy with the delivery of “Vestland Mira”. Solaas admits he is impressed with the ship now going straight into work, and he believes that the vessel will perform really well in a demanding industry:

“Vestland Offshore is a new customer for us and it is therefore especially important for Havyard to deliver the vessel to the agreed price, time and quality. We believe this is something we have succeeded with and we have great faith in our end product proving successful in the time ahead“, says Solaas.

PROUD GODMOTHER

Sølvi Hille is godmother of “Vestland Mira”, and she admits that she was excited before the naming ceremony.

“Even if I have taken part in previous naming ceremonies, the role as a godmother is quite official and new to me. I have been particularly nervous about the bottle not breaking, so Ì̀̀̀̀̀̀̀ll admit that I have been doing a bit of practice in advance”, Hille laughs, who is married to Director Per Vidar Hille.

But thankfully the bottle broke, which was a relief to her. Instead of the traditional champagne bottle, a bottle of local cider from Balestrand was used during the ceremony. It is the first time Sølvi Hille is in Balestrand and she points out that she is going back to this little area in Sogn and Fjordane.

“In Austevoll there is only sea. In Balestrand we are surrounded by enormous mountains and it is incredibly beautiful here”, she says. The godmother also has words of praise about «Vestland Mira»:

”It is a wonderful and very modern ship with high-tech equipment on board. I may not know much about ship design. Interior design is more my kind of thing, and I must admit that the interior decoration on this ship is lovely and modern”, Sølvi Hille concludes.