Construction vessels are where offshore maritime pay reaches its highest levels outside drilling. The work is more complex than supply, the vessels are more sophisticated and the officer and rating profiles required are more specific.
**What Construction Vessels Do**
Pipe-lay vessels lay subsea pipelines. The vessel holds position on DP while pipe sections are welded and lowered from the stern or through an internal J-lay tower. Maintaining position within tight tolerances during continuous laying operations places high demands on the DP system and the officers operating it.
Heavy lift crane vessels perform offshore lifts of platform modules, subsea structures and large equipment. The crane systems are enormous. The lift planning, rigging and execution requires specialist knowledge.
Cable-lay vessels install power and communications cables across the seabed. Offshore wind farm cable installation has expanded this sector significantly in recent years.
Subsea construction vessels support ROV operations, diving and underwater intervention work. They are large, have significant DP capability and carry specialist equipment and personnel.
**Pay**
Second officer on a pipe-lay vessel: $7,500 to $11,000 per month on rotation.
Chief officer: $11,000 to $16,000.
Master: $15,000 to $22,000.
Chief engineer: $13,000 to $19,000.
These figures are above standard PSV and AHTS rates because the vessels are more complex and the operational demands are higher.
**Getting There**
PSV or AHTS experience with DP Unlimited is the standard entry path to construction vessel officer positions. Operators running construction vessels look for proven DP record on demanding operations before placing officers on close-proximity precision work.
DP Unlimited plus anchor handling experience is the combination that opens the broadest range of construction vessel opportunities. Both take time to build. Officers who target this trajectory early progress into the construction sector faster than those who wait until they have standard supply experience and then try to make the jump.