KV HARSTAD - W318

Anchored of Greenock Esplanade this afternoon, the Norwegian Coastguard ship HARSTAD is paying her second visit to the Clyde. She was here last July, when she undertook trials with the Nato Submarine Rescue System off the coast of Arran. This is the same equipment which was trialled aboard the French ship ARGONAUTE in September 2007. HARSTAD is a modified Ulstein UT512 design multi-role vessel, completed in 2005 by the Aker Søviknes shipyard in Norway for Remøy Shipping, and she is on long-term charter to Kystvaken (Norwegian Coastguard). She is capable of offshore standby and rescue duties, firefighting, salvage, and pollution prevention, and has a bollard pull of 110 tonnes which will enable her to tow tankers of up to around 200,000 tonnes deadweight. HARSTAD is 83 metres in length, 3,132 gross tons, and has two Bergen diesel engines which drive Kamewa controllable pitch propellers. She is fitted with sophisticated Dynamic Positioning equipment. She is also armed, a single 40mm Bofors gun being mounted forward.