Offshore shipping has been characterised by increasingly sophisticated newbuildings capable of undertaking tasks once confined to rigs. Drillships, well intervention and pipelaying vessels may perform essential, money-making tasks, but less glamourous vessels that provide standby support and emergency response and rescue capabilities also play an essential role. Regulations for offshore structures in the North Sea and elsewhere require that standby and rescue vessels are available in case of emergency. The vessels may have no role beyond this but must be available at all times and maintain a round-the-clock listening watch on the rig or structure it is attending. Their role does not require them to be always in close proximity to a rig - in fact, it is recommended that they maintain a distance of just under a kilometre. A secondary role as a guard vessel warning other shipping away from the rig increases their usefulness. Typically, a standby vessel's crew will work 28 days on and 28 days off, thus a return to port for a crew change is a monthly requirement during which time a relief vessel will take over temporarily.
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