Gabe Newell commissions €700m deep-sea research vessel for ocean exploration

Gaming billionaire Gabe Newell has commissioned the world’s most expensive and advanced marine research vessel.

Norwegian shipbuilder VARD has secured the contract from Newell, which is worth almost €700 million (£595 million), to design and build the RV11000.

The deal, awarded by Newell’s Inkfish organisation, is the largest order of its kind ever placed with a Norwegian shipyard.

The RV11000 vessel will be capable of operating at depths of up to 11,000 meters and is intended to support some of the most ambitious deep-sea scientific missions undertaken to date.

At 162 meters long and 28 meters wide, RV11000 will be significantly larger than Inkfish’s first purpose-built research vessel, RV6000, which was contracted with VARD in 2025.

The new ship will join Inkfish’s growing fleet alongside RV Hydra and RV Dagon.

Rune Rødset, VARD’s Senior Vice-President for Sales and Marketing, said: ‘The RV11000 is not just another research vessel – it represents a new level of ambition in deep-sea exploration.

‘No other vessel has combined such a wide range of newly developed and highly advanced technologies into a single platform dedicated to operating at the deepest parts of the ocean.’

He added: ‘Being part of a project of this magnitude is both humbling and inspiring. The innovation level, and the determination from Inkfish have resulted in a vessel that stands in a class of its own.’

Deep sea research

Developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway, in partnership with Inkfish and technical partner YTMC, the vessel is being designed for a wide range of deep-ocean operations, including seabed mapping, sediment coring, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployment, and submarine support.

Among its capabilities will be facilities to launch and recover submarines, operate ROVs at extreme depths, and collect sediment samples using a 40-meter coring system.

The vessel will also be equipped with advanced oceanographic instruments, including systems for measuring temperature, salinity, and pressure at depth.

VARD says the ship will feature the largest battery installation ever fitted to a vessel, allowing up to 12 hours of silent scientific operations powered entirely by battery systems.

Speaking about the project, Stu Buckle, responsible for new builds and special projects at Inkfish, said: ‘This next-generation vessel builds on earlier designs to deliver significantly greater capability, flexibility, and reach to enable science.

‘RV11000 will be a custom-built platform that pushes the boundaries on what is possible for marine research – strengthening our ability to support scientists and unlock new understanding of the ocean. Bringing researchers, shipbuilders, and operators together from the outset has ensured the design is driven directly by scientific ambition and need.’

The RV1100 will accommodate up to 130 crew members and scientists, most of them in single cabins. It will also include laboratories, workshops, and office facilities designed to support scientific research programs.

VARD Group chief executive Cathrine Kristiseter Marti said the contract reflected both the company’s expertise and the support of its parent company, the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri.

The ship is intended to support a broad range of scientific missions, and, according to Inkfish, the vessel’s objective is to help researchers explore previously uncharted regions of the ocean and contribute to what it describes as the most comprehensive deep-ocean dataset assembled so far.

The vessel will be built through VARD’s integrated production network. The hull will be constructed at the company’s shipyard in Tulcea, Romania, before being fitted out, commissioned, and delivered from one of VARD’s Norwegian facilities.

The ship will incorporate systems supplied by several VARD subsidiaries, including Vard Electro, which will provide integrated power, control, bridge, and communications technology, and Seaonics, which will supply specialist lifting and handling equipment.

Delivery of RV11000 is scheduled for the first quarter of 2030.