Why Is This Weird Ship Shaped Like a Fat Wedge?

Why is this ship built so oddly? It's not sleek, like it's supposed to slice through the water. That's because it has one specialized purpose: to tow up to 24 sensor arrays that search for oil and gas hidden beneath the ocean floor. It's called the Ramform Titan. The operator, Petroleum Geo-Services, describes its capabilities:

Ramform Titan has 24 streamer reels, 16 abreast with a further 8 in a second row. The back deck layout is augmented by six independent source array handling booms. Together these enable faster deployment and recovery, with increased flexibility and safety, which make it possible to fully utilize the operational weather window. Steerable sources and streamers, combined with automated gear-handling systems increase flexibility and efficiency. This is an ideal platform for ultra high-density 3D acquisition, and reliable, compatible 4D projects.

-via Super Punch | Photo: PGS