Ocean Voyager News

The Govermnent of Canada announces that with an unprecedented number of organizations from the public, private and non-profit sectors it will partner together, using state-of-the-art technology, to locate the historic ships of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin Expedition. The 2014 Franklin Expedition will also have the added benefit of furthering our knowledge in a number of priority areas, including through the collection of important scientific information about Canada's most remote region. Government partners for the 2014 Victoria Strait expedition include Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Navy…

Veteran ocean voyager Dona Amélia completes refit.   The classic 71 m LOA, 1929-built gentleman's motor yacht Dona Amélia, recently departed Falmouth, UK after completion of a four-month refit at Pendennis. Works included routine maintenance (engineering survey, service and renovation of her original 1928 Krupp Germania Werft main Engines, overhaul of her generators, AC, water makers, thrusters, hydraulics, windlass).

Keppel AmFELS to Construct and Upgrade Deepwater Semisubmersible for Diamond Offshore for US$150 million. Keppel AmFELS LLC, a US wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract from Diamond Offshore to construct and upgrade a moored semisubmersible rig with delivery scheduled for 3Q 2013. The estimated shipyard contract price is approximately US$150 million. The rig, to be named Ocean Onyx, will be constructed from an existing hull from a Diamond Offshore cold stacked unit, which previously operated as the Ocean Voyager. Keppel AmFELS' scope of work on the Ocean Onyx includes the reconstruction of the rig…

Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) of Wailuku, Hawaii recently welcomed the Ocean Voyager, to its fleet of excursion vessels. The all-aluminum catamaran, constructed by Kvichak Marine of Seattle, Washington, is the third catamaran constructed by Kvichak for PWF. Constructed to USCG regulations for 149 passengers, and based on Pacific Whale Foundation's 23 years of marine research and leading high quality marine ecotours, the Ocean Voyager is a Crowther Multihulls design. This hull design offers unsurpassed stability and an ultra-smooth ride for passengers. The 64 x 28-ft. vessel operates for PWF's Eco-Adventure cruises, which include snorkeling, wild dolphin watching, and whale watching tours out of Maui's Maalaea Harbor.

Hawaiian maritime tradition traces its roots to the huge ocean going outrigger canoes that took sophisticated navigators island hopping around the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Today fiberglass versions of these canoes are put through their paces by canoe racing clubs. Other reincarnations of the outrigger’s twin hulls are the many catamarans, both sail and power, that take thousands of tourists out into the island waters every day of the year. The Pacific Whale Foundation’s Ocean Voyager well represents this modern class of vessel.

Hawaiian maritime tradition traces its roots to the huge ocean going outrigger canoes that took sophisticated navigators island hopping around the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Today fiberglass versions of these canoes are put through their paces by canoe racing clubs. Other reincarnations of the outrigger's twin hulls are the many catamarans, both sail and power, that take thousands of tourists out into the island waters every day of the year. The Pacific Whale Foundation's Ocean Voyager well represents this modern class of vessel. Designed by the noted Australian firm Crowther Multi-hulls and built by Kvichak Marine Industries in Seattle, the 65x 28-ft. aluminum boat comfortably carries up to 150 passengers out from the island of Maui on whale watch and 130 for snorkeling tours.

Hawaiian maritime tradition traces its roots to the huge ocean going outrigger canoes that took sophisticated navigators island hopping around the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Today fiberglass versions of these canoes are put through their paces by canoe racing clubs. Other reincarnations of the outrigger's twin hulls are the many catamarans, both sail and power, that take thousands of tourists out into the island waters every day of the year. The Pacific Whale Foundation's Ocean Voyager well represents this modern class of vessel. Designed by the noted Australian firm Crowther Multi-Hulls and built by Kvichak Marine Industries in Seattle, the 65 x 28-ft. aluminum boat comfortably carries up to 150 passengers out from the island of Maui on whale watch and 130 for snorkeling tours.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. has selected Mobile based Offshore-Inland Marine & Oilfield Services (OIS) to perform upgrades and modifications to the Ocean Voyager. The rig recently arrived at Mobile Middle Bay Port for upgrade work related to the Voyagers’ upcoming Pemex contract period. Fabrication and installation of high-pressure mud piping, Fabrication and installation of four new, Potable Water Tanks and pumping system, Under-deck blasting/painting, Helideck blasting/painting/marking, Accommodations refurbishment, Installation of a Mud Gas Separator, Fabrication and installation related to a, 12-man accommodation unit, Fabrication and installation related to AC…

Earlier this year, Hawaii’s Pacific Whale Watch Foundation took delivery of their latest catamaran, the M/V Ocean Discovery, from Island Boats of Jeanerettt, La. Like the earlier, Seattle-built M/V Ocean Voyager, a pair of Cummins KTA19 M4 engines delivering 700 hp each to propellers powers the new vessel. The engines on the new boat turn through Twin Disc “Quickshift” gearboxes allowing the vessel to be stopped and reversed quickly in emergency situations without harming the passengers. The vessel’s varied seating arrangement provides excellent viewing of the Hawaiian scenery and aquatic life at speeds up to 26-knots. At 65 by 28-feet the new boat has seating for 163 and is licensed to a passenger capacity up to 149 people.