drillship

American  

[dril-ship] / ˈdrɪlˌʃɪp /

noun

1. a ship equipped with a drill rig and engaged in offshore oil and gas exploration, oceanographic research, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of drillship

First recorded in 1860–65; drill ¹ + ship ¹

Example Sentences

The incident response team has located all four survival ships and one rescue ship that were dislodged from the drillship when it ran aground.

From Reuters • Jan. 11, 2013

The permits allow the company to operate the Discoverer drillship and supporting icebreakers, oil spill response vessels and other ships in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, according to EPA.

From Washington Post • Sep. 21, 2011

In the meantime, BP has placed a containment cap on Deepwater Horizon's failed blow-out preventer which takes some of the oil and gas to a drillship, the Discoverer Enterprise.

From The Guardian • Jul. 1, 2010

A buildup of crystallized gas in the dome forced engineers to delay efforts to place the huge containment device over the rupture and funnel leaking oil to a waiting drillship.

From Reuters • May 10, 2010

Texaco is already operating the Glomar Atlantic, a drillship, in the area, and Phillips has dispatched a rig from Africa's Ivory Coast to help with the exploration.

From Time Magazine Archive