Zamil Offshore Taps Conoship for Ultra-Shallow Dive Support Vessel

Zamil Offshore has engaged Dutch naval architect Conoship International to design a 76.2-metre ultra-shallow draft dive support vessel with a maximum draught of just 2.5 metres, built for the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. Draught is the depth of hull sitting below the waterline. The project is at design stage, with no steel cut and no shipyard named.

The announcement, reported on 7 October 2026 by Baird Maritime, Ocean Energy Resources and WorkBoat365, targets a practical problem. Conventional diving support ships sit too deep in the water to reach much of the Gulf’s shallow subsea infrastructure.

A vessel built around that constraint matters to anyone tracking offshore maintenance capacity in the region, because it suggests contractors see value in reaching assets that larger ships cannot.

Here is what the vessel is, how it is meant to hold position and save fuel, and where the gaps sit in what has been confirmed so far.

What Zamil and Conoship have actually announced

The contract covers concept and basic design only. Conoship will produce an engineering package that Zamil can later take to a shipyard for selection and construction.

Coverage across all three outlets frames the brief around three design drivers: shallow-water access, fuel efficiency and no loss of offshore capability. According to Baird Maritime, the vessel is intended for “maintenance of subsea infrastructure as well as offshore oil and gas operations.”

The specification sheet describes a working multi-role platform rather than a small inspection craft.

The LARS (launch and recovery system) lowers divers into the water and lifts them back. An ROV is a remotely operated underwater vehicle controlled from the ship.

Diving support vessels typically carry out inspection work alongside repairs, and non-destructive testing is central to how operators judge the condition of ageing offshore assets without taking them out of service.

What remains unconfirmed as of October 2026:

• Shipyard
• Build start date
• Delivery schedule

That gap is the point to hold onto. For you, this is a signal of intent, not yet capacity you can count on.

How a 2.5-metre hull holds position and saves fuel

A shallow hull solves the access problem but creates others. Keeping a ship steady above working divers, while burning less fuel, is harder when less of the hull grips the water.

Positioning: DP2 plus spud-poles

The design pairs DP2 with two spud-poles. DP2 is a dynamic positioning system that uses computer-controlled thrusters to hold a ship in place, with backup equipment so a single failure does not cause it to drift. Spud-poles are steel legs lowered to the seabed to pin the vessel mechanically.

Baird Maritime describes the poles as an alternative positioning method for shallow-water work. DP2 handles dynamic tasks, while spuds suit static jobs in very shallow water.

Diving demands that redundancy, because a vessel drifting off station puts divers at risk. Van Stee Offshore’s Zwerver I already works this way, operating on four-point mooring, spuds or DP2 depending on conditions.

Efficiency claims and their limits

Conoship says the design combines a lightweight hull structure, optimised hull lines, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and tank tests to cut resistance. Diesel-electric propulsion drives two azimuth thrusters, which rotate to push in any direction, and shares power flexibly between thrusters and onboard systems.

The company says this lowers fuel use per operating hour versus standard alternatives. These are design-stage claims, not measured results.

The trade-offs are real:

• Ultra-shallow hulls are more sensitive to wind, wave and current
• Spuds need suitable seabed and relatively benign sea states
• A 360 m² deck forces compromises among deck load, centre of gravity and stability

The concept is not new to Zamil. SWZ|Maritime reported a Conoship 2.5 m draught DSV design for the company in July 2021. The useful test for you is whether the claimed savings and stability hold once DP2 loads and a heavy working deck are added, which only sea trials can show.

What the design signals for Gulf subsea maintenance and oilfield services

Those engineering choices exist to close an access gap.

The shallow-water problem Ocean Energy Resources describes the vessel as a response to challenges in shallow waters, “particularly in the Gulf Region, where conventional DSV drafts can restrict access to subsea infrastructure.”

Zamil brings operating weight to the project. According to Oil & Gas News, its credentials include:

• Around 80 offshore vessels plus two lift boats
• 26 vessels built at its Dammam yards
• Seven Rolls-Royce UT 733 anchor handlers with 80-tonne bollard pull
• Ten diesel-electric anchor handlers with 65-tonne bollard pull
• Existing DP2 DSV and subsea construction experience

Policy adds a tailwind. Saudi Aramco says its In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) programme, a local-content scheme, “is designed to drive increased investment, economic diversification, job creation, and workforce development within the Kingdom.”

Competition cuts the other way. Oil & Gas News notes Zamil faces tough regional rivalry, and a crowded fleet carries overcapacity risk if upstream investment slows.

No published figures on Gulf offshore activity, Saudi offshore capex or Zamil’s Aramco contracts were found. If you follow Gulf offshore services, read this as evidence that contractors are investing in shallow-water access, not as proof of a demand surge.

Much of the shallow subsea work such a vessel would support falls under pipeline integrity management, where routine inspection and repair determine whether failures are caught before they become costly shutdowns.

What to watch as the design moves toward steel

The concept is credible. It builds on a 2021 design, follows proven shallow-draught practice and targets a genuine access constraint in Gulf waters.

Its commercial significance, though, depends entirely on execution. The milestones that would convert a design into capacity are:

1. Shipyard selection
2. Confirmed build start
3. A delivery schedule
4. Any Aramco-linked charter announcement

Until those arrive, the right call for anyone tracking Gulf subsea capacity is to log this as intent and wait for the yard contract before adjusting expectations.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. Performance claims are design-stage statements and subject to change based on construction and sea trial outcomes.