Dutch Subsea Services Newcomer Acquires First Vessel

FreeStar Subsea Services, a Netherlands-based company established by the merger of Vriezoo ROV Services and Mark Offshore, has acquired its first vessel and started operations.

The company offers remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and survey support services with its own vessel, the SSV Navicula Star, which was recently acquired the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).

While most mid-sized subsea companies specialize in either vessel or ROV services, FreeStar’s owners and founders  -  Mark van der Star and Willem de Vries - believe that this combination will give the new offshore service provider a competitive edge.

“With the purchase of this vessel, our journey began. The SSV Navicula Star is equipped with an onboard ROV to quickly respond and save costs at the start of a project. The vessel can accommodate 11 people and is equipped with a crane, 2 davits and an A-frame with several winches, for deploying and/or recovering a variety of loads into or out from the water,” said Mark van der Star.

FreeStar, which boasts a rleet of five offshore and four inshore ROV systems, aims to offer a comprehensive suite of subsea services, including bathymetric and geotechnical surveys, cable protection, and burial operations.

Although the Navicula Star is diesel-powered, the recently outfitted vessel will run on biofuel, such as HVO. The SVO technology will constantly monitor the output of exhaust fumes and register the CO2 output of the vessel and later also monitor the entire company, for which this technology is also suited.