The NS Carolina is a dynamically positioned ultra-deepwater mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU). Its primary operational areas will be in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and Brazil. The drillship features drilling equipment on the main deck, with a continuous main deck and a bow deck.

Three engine rooms with six diesel engines (7,000 KW X 720 RPM) are arranged at the stern of the hull. The thruster machinery spaces are arranged in machinery rooms and in the FWD hull machinery space, each containing engines and controls for 5,500 KW azimuth thrusters used for positioning or dynamically propelling the drillship.