'Midnight Hunter' DP-2 multi-service construction vessel

Midnight Hunter is a multi-service construction vessel providing saturation diving in up to 1000 feet of water. She can also be equipped with ROV equipment to perform subsea construction projects.

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Torch Offshore also announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Cable Shipping Inc. to bareboat charter a vessel, the G. Murray, under a three-year contract. The vessel will be renamed the Midnight Hunter. The Company's Board of Directors has approved the agreement.

The Midnight Hunter will be used by the Company as a deepwater pipelay vessel as it is capable of laying pipe (utilizing four reels) and providing diving and ROV support work. The vessel is 340 feet long and 62 feet wide and is a DP-2 class vessel with accommodations for 128. The vessel will have pipelay capabilities to work in water depths of approximately 3,000 to 4,000 feet.

"The Midnight Hunter will provide Torch with an immediate deepwater presence and is an ideal fit with our strategy of taking our existing expertise into the deepwater arena. We also believe that having this vessel operating in the deepwater today will pay significant dividends in connection with the introduction of the Midnight Express in the coming year," stated Lyle Stockstill.