Ramform Sovereign
IMO : 9390460
Build : 2008 by STX Norway Offshore AS Langsten, Tomrefjord in Norway, nr 360
Usually seismic survey vessels are either converted ships of any other type or based on regular ships designs, this one is a bespoke designed one. And a rather strange looking….nee, ugly looking for that matter. The hull is triangle-shaped, widest at her stern, her funnels are located near the bow and resemble a church organ from hell.
And because of the triangle-shaped hull her “arse” looks pretty hugh!!
Here are some pics of her sister the Ramform Sterling while under tow to the outfitting yard, looking even more sinister in her unpainted form.
I wonder what the windows on the deck above the bridge are for….a penthouse for the captain???
WWW.UGLYSHIPS.COM 
If we separate ships into two classes, classic ships with beautiful lines and modern workhorses of a totally radical design, I personally think the Ramform Sovereign and Ramform Sterling is one of the coolest ships built lately.
And when you take into consideration that they have the option to be towing 22 streamers, compared to the regular seismic vessels who is towing 10 – 12 streamers, it is pretty awesome.!
BTW, the windows above the bridgedeck is called the Skylounge. It is one of the many many crew areas where the lucjy guys who is working on this ship can do whatever they want…=) For example look at the amazing view from up there…=)
And yes, I did work on the building of this amazing ship…=)
fair enough she can tow 22 streamers but you can kiss goodbye to any near offsets during acquisition, have 2 workboats in the water constantly cleaning barnacles, and if anything goes wrong, it will go very wrong…
wow. I really like her! She looks like a mississippi paddleboat, minus the paddlewheel. I’d reckon you can fly WAY more than 22 party streamers from her and throw confetti from that there Skylounge!
I pity the poor crew who has to untangle 176 kilometres of streamer when they tangle……and they will get tangled.
Barnacles.. no.. We now have anti-barnacle technology on the streamers… as well as dual sensor GeoStreamer… 🙂
Awsome vessels.
Miss the near offsets…. not if the towing configuration is 22×25/50 metres.
The ship has had one tangle since it came out in 2009…because of a ship going over the cables…
There is a reason why this is the most powerful seismic vessel…It can put out 14 streemers ++faster than you guys can deploy youre 6-8 streemers with your bath tub deflectors because of the efficency of having it shaped like that !
The skylounge (the little cabin on top of the bridge) is not what someone suggests that it is for the crew to to enjoy the view. It is for the MMOs (Marine Mammals Obsevers). The seismic industry has benn critcised for disturbing whales and other MMs, so in a lot of areas they have to have MMOs to conduct observations of every whale or other MM coming close to the vessel.
And I don’t like the idea that a ship is ugly. Every ship has a function, and this ship is built to be the ultimate seismic vessel. Personally I think the car carco ships are worse, they look like shoe boxes with a pointy end.
It is like saying a goal in football is better than another goal. Maybe scoring from 30 meters looks better on television, but the guy who scores from 5 m. were in the right place at the right time.