PHOTO: Maersk Voyager UDW Drillship Named in South Korea

Maersk Drilling’s fourth ultra deepwater drillship was named Thursday morning in a ceremony held at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje-Si, South Korea.

Lene Berg, wife of Gregers Kudsk, Vice President in Maersk Drilling, had the honour of naming the drillship Maersk Voyager.

Maersk Voyager is the fourth in a series of four ultra deepwater drillships. The four drillships were ordered in 2011 and represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn.

Maersk Voyager is scheduled to be delivered from SHI in Q4 2014. Maersk Voyager remains without a first contract.

“The short term floater market is challenged, but we remain in discussions with several oil companies regarding short term as well as long term drilling campaigns for the Maersk Voyager,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group.

Featuring dual derrick and large subsea work and storage areas, the design allows for efficient well construction and field development activities through offline activities. With their advanced positioning control system, the ships automatically maintain a fixed position in severe weather conditions with waves of up to 11 metres and wind speeds of up to 26 metres per second.

Special attention has been given to safety on board the drillships. Equipped with Multi Machine Control on the drill floor, the high degree of automation ensures safe operation and consistent performance. Higher transit speeds and increased capacity will reduce the overall logistics costs for oil companies.