An offshore supply vessel designed to carry deck cargo, dry bulk, liquid mud, and fuel to offshore platforms and rigs.
In practice
PSV operations require precise station-keeping adjacent to the platform during cargo transfer, exposure to the platform's downwash and the risk of collision with the installation. Dynamic positioning operators must hold the appropriate DP certificate and work within operational limiting criteria defined in the vessel's DP operations manual. Engineers maintain the thruster, power management, and ballast systems to DP class standards, and any failure that degrades the DP capability must be recorded in the DP logbook and reported to the client company. Environmental requirements including MARPOL Annexes I and IV apply in full to PSVs operating in offshore fields.
Regulatory detail & full definition
Platform supply vessels are purpose-built offshore service ships designed to carry a wide range of cargo types needed continuously by offshore oil and gas platforms: drilling mud and cement in pressurised dry bulk tanks, fuel oil and diesel in under-deck liquid cargo tanks, potable water and brine, and general deck cargo such as tubulars, containers, equipment, and chemicals. They range from around 50 to 100 metres in length with large clear stern work decks of several hundred square metres, equipped with a deck crane, cargo rails, and anchor points. DP Class 2 is standard for vessels operating alongside platforms in open water.
PSV operations require precise station-keeping adjacent to the platform during cargo transfer, exposure to the platform's downwash and the risk of collision with the installation. Dynamic positioning operators must hold the appropriate DP certificate and work within operational limiting criteria defined in the vessel's DP operations manual. Engineers maintain the thruster, power management, and ballast systems to DP class standards, and any failure that degrades the DP capability must be recorded in the DP logbook and reported to the client company. Environmental requirements including MARPOL Annexes I and IV apply in full to PSVs operating in offshore fields.