Originally built as a commercial fishing vessel in 1996, Adrianus was later acquired by Bass Marine and partially equipped and refitted to enable it to be used in offshore service / work boat roles.
After spending more than 13 years providing platform supply and standby vessel services off the Western Australian coast Bass Marine decided to undertake a long-planned, and very significant, program of vessel refit and modification works.
Dongara Marine was selected to carry out the works, at least in part due to the success of other work the company undertook previously for Bass Marine, in particular the construction of its multipurpose vessel Poppa G and refit of Optimus 1000, which is owned by an affiliated company.
Although Adrianus was originally designed by Gavin Mair Marine Design / Global Marine Designs, Bass Marine selected Southerly Designs to significantly redesign the vessel to significantly increase its capacity.
In developing these modifications, Southerly Designs, Bass Marine, Dongara Marine, and AMSA-certified surveyor worked collaboratively to ensure modifications could be implemented cost effectively and without triggering significant flow on effects from a vessel survey / regulatory standpoint.
As well as addressing wear and tear, Dongara Marine’s scope of work resulted in significantly increased vessel operating capability and flexibility.
Post completion, Adrianus was quickly back into service demonstrating its multipurpose capability by undertaking a variety of roles including ocean towing, supplies transfer, and research surveys. These involved, for example, deploying stereo imaging systems in the Abrolhos Marine Park; and baited and non-baited drop cameras in waters up to 400 metres deep in the Ningaloo Marine Park.