The Japanese drill ship Chikyu, a high-tech, state-of-the-art drilling vessel with laboratories, is to be used to drill for core samples of the earth offshore. To learn more about earthquakes and climate changes, such core samples will be analysed on board the ship.

This is a project that moves the conventional limits for what a drill ship can do. The lessons learned and the experience gained from this project will be followed with great interest by commercial drilling operators and oil companies world wide.

Japan, the USA and Europe/the EU are behind this joint international research programme, called the International Offshore Drilling Programme. Japan is currently building the first drill ship, to be named Chikyu, and France will build the second one and the USA the third.

The Japanese drill ship Chikyu
Chikyu is owned by the Japanese state-owned company JAMSTEC. Global Ocean Development Inc. (GODI) has a contract with JAMSTEC to build and operate the drill ship. Since GODI is lacking in drill ship experience, Smedvig Offshore has been commissioned to act as an advisor during the completion phase. Smedvig will also operate the drill ship for the first 15 months after completion.

DNV is involved in the project through a contract with GODI to conduct extensive SHE (Safety, Health and Environment) analyses. The work will be conducted from DNV’s Houston office with assistance from DNV in Kobe. This project will kick off in Japan in early September.