Submersible Support Vessel

[KenH]

This is a representation of the “Vickers Venturer”, which was a mother ship for a manned submersible used in the North Sea in the 1970s. She was converted from a stern trawler “Relko”.

The hull of the vessel, the lifeboat and the submersible body were all modelled in Delftship (a subdivision modeller for conceptual ship design) and imported into AC3D as OBJ files. All the other structures, fittings and details were modelled in AC3D.

Information for the model was obtained from shipyard arrangement and structural drawings, photographs of the Relko and of the as-converted Vickers Venturer, typical arrangement drawings and photos of marine equipment and fittings, and informed guesswork for any remaining unclear details based on my own shipyard and ship conversion experience.



This is the actual vessel.



This is the 3D model from the same viewpoint.



View of the vessel from forward.



This shows the submersible in its stowed position in the well deck, with the A-frame retracted and the stern door raised.



The same viewpoint but with the stern door lowered, the A-frame extended and carrying the submersible ready for lowering into the water.



The main deck aft, showing the well deck, part of the lifeboat davit and the hoist winch.



The foredeck showing the anchor windlass, base of the foremast and front of the pilot house.



The submersible. The brown sphere is the pressure hull which carries the 2 or 3 - man crew. The red part is the streamlined fairing covering the structural framework and mechanical equipment and battery packs. The tools in front of the sphere are remote operated manipulator arms and cameras.