Accommodation vessels, also called flotels or accommodation barges, house workers during offshore platform maintenance campaigns. They moor alongside or DP close to installations and provide sleeping quarters, catering and services for several hundred workers who are working on the platform.
They are not glamorous. The vessels spend weeks or months in the same location. The maritime operation is largely static. For specific types of seafarers the combination of good pay, manageable operations and predictable schedule makes them an attractive option.
**The Maritime Crew**
Masters and chief officers manage the vessel positioning, mooring operations and safety systems. On DP accommodation vessels the same DP certification requirements apply as on any other DP vessel.
Chief engineers and second engineers maintain the power generation, ballast systems and hotel services that keep several hundred people comfortable over a long campaign.
ETOs maintain the vessel’s electrical and electronic systems, which on a large accommodation vessel include substantial hotel and communications infrastructure.
The catering team is proportionally larger than on most offshore vessels because feeding several hundred people three times a day is a significant operation.
**Pay**
Chief officer on an accommodation vessel: $8,000 to $12,000 per month on rotation.
Master: $11,000 to $16,000.
Chief engineer: $9,000 to $14,000.
Rates are comparable to PSV at equivalent rank. Some large accommodation vessels operated on long campaigns pay above PSV rates because the hotel operations complexity adds to the operational demands.
**The Working Environment**
Static operations mean the vessel is in the same place for weeks. Some officers find this more comfortable than continuous transit operations. Others find it monotonous compared to vessels covering distance.
The crew on board during a maintenance campaign is substantially larger than a normal OSV crew because the workers being housed add to the numbers in the accommodation. The vessel feels more occupied than a supply vessel of comparable size.
**Getting In**
DP certification for officers as on any DP-equipped accommodation vessel. BOSIET applies. Crewing agencies that handle accommodation vessel placements include the major offshore specialists. The vessels are often contracted by large oil companies directly and managed by specialist accommodation vessel operators.