In 2015, a Norwegian shipowner commissioned the Italian designer Stefano Pastrovich to give his two 88-metre-long platform supply vessels (PSVs) a new lease of life. These vessels, which supply offshore oil platforms and wind farms with provisions, had been left idle due to the slump in the oil market: technically sound, but economically underutilised.
Pastrovich Studio is now presenting its Explorer PSV conversion studies, focusing on the configuration that started it all: the 88-metre Explorer yacht, designed to accommodate 30 guests in 15 suites. A 36-guest version with 18 suites, compliant with the Passenger Yacht Code, is also available – ideal for a large family or for pure charter operations.
One platform, three purposes
“The project was based on a real owner, a real platform and a real market problem,” says Stefano Pastrovich. “That is precisely why its rationale remains so relevant today.” The brief was clear: to retain the range, reliability and redundancy of a North Sea workboat whilst offering those on board the experience of a superyacht. The result was a platform designed for three specific purposes.
The 88-metre concept study set out the design principles to be followed by the larger configurations: 64 guests for boutique expedition charters and 116 passengers for expedition cruises on the same platform, extended to 100 metres.
Pastrovich draws a ship to share
A private yacht can accommodate twelve guests. The 88-metre yacht, which can carry 30 or 36 guests, expands the possibilities offered by an expedition vessel. For a large family, it is a vessel to share. For a charter company, it is the sort of vessel the expedition market demands: small groups, a high crew-to-guest ratio. An experience that feels more personal than scripted.
Inside, the sophistication of a superyacht; outside, a hull built for use in the North Sea – ready for Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland, Patagonia and Papua New Guinea.
A PSV as a pick-up
Every second-hand hull is unique: an icebreaker, a research vessel, an old ferry – every conversion starts from scratch. With a platform supply vessel, it’s different. A PSV has crew accommodation and machinery in the forward section, whilst around two-thirds of its length is available as an open working deck (here: around 1,000 square metres). Pastrovich: “A PSV is like a pick-up truck. The front section is technically sophisticated and fixed. The back is yours.”
The new superstructure will be manufactured off-ship and installed on deck as a complete assembly. The original hull, the four-engine propulsion system, the navigation systems and the dynamic positioning (DP2) system will remain intact. The study estimates a construction period of 14 to 20 months, with lower capital expenditure and less technical risk than a newbuild.
Expeditions are in demand
For the 116-passenger configuration, Pastrovich collaborated with Meccano Engineering S.R.L., a design firm with experience in the cruise ship sector. The subsequent construction of a 100-metre expedition cruise yacht, which was unveiled at Nor-Shipping in 2017, was carried out in collaboration with Wärtsilä and centred on a low-emission hybrid system.
The market for expedition yacht charters reached a value of 9.2 billion dollars in 2025 and is growing by over nine per cent annually. The market for expedition cruises is growing by seventeen per cent, making it the fastest-growing segment of the cruise industry. In 2025 alone, 58 new expedition yachts were launched. Given the continuing volatility of the oil market, the idea of giving supply vessels a new lease of life is just as relevant today as it was in 2015.
Technical Specifications for the “Brage” Reference Platform
- Length: 87 m
- Width: 19 m
- Draught: 8 m
- Summer draught: 6.6 m
- Load capacity: 4,800 tonnes
- Covered area: 1,000 m²
- Load-bearing capacity: 10 t/m²
- Main engines: 4 × Wärtsilä 9L20
- Propulsion: 2 × Rolls-Royce Azimuth Aquamaster
- Classification: DNV +1A1 supply vessel
- Year of construction: 2011, Cochin, India
Uske Berndt
Editor News & Panorama