Kleven Delivers Maersk Minder
Norwegian shipbuilder Kleven Verft today delivered the 95-metre-long anchor handling vessel Maersk Minder, the fourth of six vessels in Maersk Supply Services’ Starfish series.
The naming ceremony was held at Kleven Verft this afternoon, led by the shipyard’s new CEO Karsten Sævik, with Anni Bak as sponsor.
“This is vessel number four in the series, and the yard has demonstrated its ability to again construct a very advanced and sophisticated vessel,” Sævik said. “We are very grateful for the efforts made by all suppliers, our employees and the support received from the Maersk site team; we are proud to have such reputable clients in our yard.”
Claus Bachmann, COO Maersk Supply Service, said, “Executing a newbuilding project of a prototype anchor handler is definitely not an easy task. Honest and transparent teamwork is needed, and I am delighted to say that the collaboration between Kleven and Maersk Supply Service has been excellent. By having a constructive dialogue around challenges that naturally arises in such a project, I believe we managed to lay the keel for these high-quality vessels.”
Built for deep water anchor handling and oilfield operations, Maersk Minder’s three sister vessels, Maersk Master, Maersk Mariner and Maersk Mover, went straight to work after delivery from Kleven. The vessels are designed by Salt Ship Design to carry out services such as decommissioning, towing and installation as well as supply and anchor handling duties.
“While new high-quality vessels are always exciting, it is when we face customers that we stand trial,” Bachmann said. “The vessels simply must perform 100 percent from day one and provide that extra value to our clients. I am very happy to say that the three Starfish vessels delivered has performed as expected and with positive customer feedback, praising the good facilities and excellent fuel efficiency.”
Another milestone was reached today with the launch of the sixth and last vessel in the series at Kleven Verft. The fifth of the sisters is currently under construction and will be ready for delivery later this year.
