MV Kobi Ruegg Joins Fugro Survey Fleet

A 58-meter, multi-role survey vessel MV Kobi Ruegg has joined Fugro’s fleet and is set to begin her first project in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea.

Working on behalf of Saipem, Fugro will deploy its large diameter piston core system to collect soil samples in the Zohr gas field; geophysical surveys for Pico and Shell will follow.

Having previously operated in the Gulf of Mexico for Fugro, the three-year-old vessel has recently been renamed in honor of a former member of Fugro’s management board who passed away in March 2017. Köbi (Jakob) Rüegg worked for Fugro for almost 20 years and from 2009 until he retired in 2013 was a member of the Board of Management with responsibility for the Offshore Survey Division.

The vessel replaces the Fugro Navigator which has been permanently retired as part of Fugro’s ongoing vessel rationalization process.

Permanently mobilized with a full range of geophysical survey and geotechnical sampling equipment, as well as a Seaeye Panther remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the vessel is based in Alexandria, Egypt. From her new home port of Abu Qir, she will deliver Fugro’s marine site characterization services to clients in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.

At the formal naming ceremony held in Egypt in September, Fugro’s Regional Director, Mike Dravitzki, highlighted how the new vessel sent signaled Fugro’s commitment to Egypt and the wider Middle East region.