ONGC inducts third offshore supply vessel

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) today flagged off its latest offshore supply vessel (OSV), a step that will strengthen the state-owned exploration giant's operational infrastructure.

'LJ Johnson' was flagged off from Nhava Sheva, about 50km from Mumbai, where the nation's largest oil explorer has its main base, by ONGC chairman and managing director Sudhir Vasudeva.

The vessel has been named after former ONGC chairman L J Johnson. This is ONGC's third supply vessel and the PSU will add nine more by the end of 2014, he said on the occasion.

The other two vessels have been named after the first Chairman K D Malviya and his successor P R Nayak. OSVs are most critical components for the seamless operations in the offshore. Acquisitions of these OSVs in our fleet will provide an extraordinary strength to our offshore operations, Mr Vasudeva told reporters at the ONGC facility.

He said the vessel will cater to the needs of the company's offshore installations. In fact, the bulk of the

ONGC's production comes from the Western offshore fields, which contribute 71 per cent of oil and 54 per cent of gas.

LJ Johnson is the third OSV that has been constructed by Pipavav Shipyard, which had been given a bulk contract for 12 such vessels in 2009.

The total investment for ONGC stands at around Rs 550 crore for 12 OSVs. So, on an average each vessel is costing around Rs 45 crore, he said.

Having a capacity of 549 tonne each, these vessels can carry a load of up to 1,800 tonne and are built with latest navigation and control systems.

A fleet of 28 OSVs of Sindhu and Samudrika series was inducted in 1983 and 1984 which rendered service to all the offshore installations of ONGC for close to three decades.

The Maharatna PSU decided to phase out the ageing fleet of OSVs and replace them with the new ones for more reliable operations in the high seas.