Pipe Laying Vessels News

Nord Stream 2 AG, Russia's Gazprom-led company building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, has been granted permission from the Danish authorities to use pipelaying vessels with anchors instead of the dynamic-positioning ones.The Danish Energy Agency has at the request of Nord Stream 2 AG made a decision to change the condition to use pipelaying vessels with self-positioning (DP pipe-laying vessels) in the construction permit for the Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which the Danish Energy Agency granted Nord Stream 2 AG on October 30…

The Nord Stream 2 has requested a permit allowing it to use pipe-laying vessels with anchors to complete the final roughly 120-kilometer stretch of pipeline in Danish waters, Denmark's energy agency (DEA) said on Tuesday.Work on the project stopped in December as pipe-laying firm Swiss-Dutch Allseas suspended work due to U.S. sanctions targeting companies providing vessels laying Nord Stream 2 pipes.The DEA did not say how the work would proceed in the face of a new risk of sanctions but its decision would be "purely administrative" and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.The Trump administration opposes the project on the grounds it would strengthen Russia's economic grip over Europe.This month, U.S.

Viking Systems International is a worldwide leader in the advanced design, analysis and 3rd party verification of structures, focusing on the offshore oil and gas industry, commercial ship business, and the military and defense community. Viking executes advanced structural design, analysis, 3rd party verification and FEA engineering services. Viking Systems’ core structural assessment software, SAGA, integrates regulatory body requirements by applying world class state-of-the-art software…

Gibdock has officially opened its new ‘Pad 1’, a specialised area for land-based fabrication projects, to a busy workload. The 2,940m2 purpose-built pad offers an area of prime 12 tonnes per m2 load-bearing workspace to support the growing range of large and complex projects that are being attracted to the yard. “Pad 1 is a versatile facility with many applications”, says Gibdock Managing Director, Richard Beards. Gibdock provides the highest standard in shipyard services in one of the most strategic locations in Europe. Located in Gibraltar, between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and protected within a deepwater port, its capabilities include comprehensive repair, maintenance and conversion in three dry docks.

Bibby Ship Management is seeing a near 20% increase in inquiries for its services from the offshore sector as ship owners and support vessel operators look to reduce costs and recruit the best crews for their vessels. This development is fuelled in part by a move by the oil majors to reduce their costs in the aftermath of the slump in oil prices while still demanding high quality support vessel operations from ship owners who service their offshore supply needs. Andrew Rodden…

China signaled that it will cut its vast shipyard army to get industrial growth back on a healthy track this year, as its earning ability falters amid cheap vessel prices, blind expansion and speculation in the shipbuilding sector, according to Xinhua. China will drastically curb the number of shipyards, docks, berths and maintenance facilities it opens, reports Xinhua, citing Li Dong, deputy director-general at the department of equipment industry at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Contracts worth around EUR 2-billion for construction of the first of the four offshore lines of the trans-Baltic South Stream gas pipeline have now been signed by South Stream Transport and Saipem, inform Gazprom. Saipem is to build the first offshore line of the South Stream gas pipeline as well as erect process facilities in the shore crossing areas, and construct the landfalls. Pipes will be welded together on board a special pipe-laying vessel and then laid in position on the seabed at a depth of up to 2,200 meters.

Kongsberg Maritime has been chosen to deliver substantial technology packages for ten new pipelaying vessels ordered by Brazilian multinational energy corporation, Petrobras. In contracts valued approx. NOK 118 Million, the scope of supply includes Kongsberg Maritime’s offshore vessel technology including Dynamic Positioning (DP), position reference systems, propulsion control and automation. Six 550-tonne laying tension capacity pipelayers will be built at IHC Merwede in The Netherlands for delivery in 2015 and 2016. Three of the vessels, for Subsea 7, are identical designs to the recently launched ‘Seven Waves’, and will feature the same K-POS DP22 dual redundant DP system including HiPAP acoustic positioning system and other position reference systems from Kongsberg Maritime.

Holland's South Stream Transport has signed an option agreement with the Bulgarian ports of Varna and  Burgas  for the storage and handling of pipe segments in Black Sea coastal 'marshalling yards prior to commencement of the huge project. The South Stream Offshore Pipeline will consist of four parallel pipelines through the Black Sea, each made up of over 75,000 pipe segments. The pipes will be stored in so-called marshalling yards at harbours on the shore in Bulgaria, and shipped to specialized pipe-laying vessels when construction starts in 2014.

The two pipe laying vessels (PLSVs) are to be built at the brand new Vard Promar yard in Recife, in the North East of Brazil. The order is part of four OSVs by DOF/Norskan and Technip, important customers for Vard. The other two of these vessels are to be built in Norway, also to DNV class. The new Vard Promar yard in North East Brazil represents a significant expansion of Brazil’s shipbuilding capability as more yards will be built outside of Rio de Janeiro. At 340 tons, the Brazilian built vessels will be among the most complex vessels ever constructed in Brazil.

Wärtsilä received a significant order to supply the propulsion solutions for six new offshore pipe laying vessels being built by IHC Merwede. Three of the ships are to be built for Subsea 7, the seabed-to-surface engineering, construction, and services contractor to the offshore energy industry. The other three vessels have been ordered by Seabras Sapura, the Sapura Kencana and Seadrill partnership entity. All six vessels are scheduled to be delivered during the first half of 2015 and the second half of 2016.

To understand how ABS and DNV participate in Brazil’s complex and challenging Maritime and O&G industries, MR spoke to ABS’s João Carlos Ferreira , DNV’s Tommy Bjørnsen and their colleagues in Rio de Janeiro. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is a non-profit classification society founded in 1862. ABS has been present in Brazil for more than 40 years, with more than 200 employees distributed between six offices in Brazil. “We have been providing classification services to the offshore industry longer than any other class society, and we are the current market leader in worldwide MODU classification and also market leaders in floating production units (FPI)…

Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply integrated power solutions to six new offshore Pipe Laying Vessels (PLVs) being built for operation in Brazilian waters. The majority of these orders were booked before the second quarter of 2012. The PLVs will be operating for the Brazilian multinational corporation Petrobras for the construction of pipelines from offshore oil rigs to the mainland. The six vessels are to be built by three different companies at yards in the Netherlands, Brazil and South Korea. The Wärtsilä solutions selected for the six vessels include design, main engines, and propellers and will be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.

IHC Merwede’s expanding portfolio has helped it to record increased revenue and profit figures for 2011, and to maintain its strong order book for 2012 and beyond. In the past year, IHC Merwede’s revenue has increased by four per cent to reach € 1.05 billion. The company’s net profit has also increased to € 103 million with a solvency ratio of 40 percent, demonstrating that IHC Merwede is in strong financial health and able to implement its growth strategy. With sales amounting to € 1.057 billion, IHC Merwede assured itself of a substantial order book of € 1.18 billion – the equivalent of more than one year’s workload. Internationalization continues to be an important priority for IHC Merwede, as it succeeds in reducing costs and meeting the needs of its markets.

Wärtsilä will supply the design and propulsors/positioning system for a series of two new flexible pipe laying vessels (PLVs) for advanced operations. The vessels are to be built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in the Republic of Korea. The owner and operator of the vessels is a joint venture formed between France-based energy industry company, Technip and the Brazilian oil & gas industry company, Odebrecht Óleo & Gás (OOG). The vessels will work on a long-term charter in Brazilian waters for Petrobras.

DNV has developed a new pipeline concept, called X-Stream, that can significantly reduce the cost of a deep- and ultra-deepwater gas pipeline while still complying with the strictest safety and integrity regime. X-Stream is based on established and field-proven technologies which have been innovatively arranged. X-Stream can reduce both the pipeline wall thickness and time spent on welding and installation compared to deep-water gas pipelines currently in operation. The exact reduction in the wall thickness depends on the water depth, pipe diameter and actual pipeline profile.

A ceremony for the largest ever working capital guarantee issued by Atradius Dutch State Business – on behalf of the Dutch Government – took place on April 5, 2012 at IHC Merwede’s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel. With this finance agreement in place, IHC Merwede will start work on the construction of two pipe-laying vessels for its Malaysian customer SapuraCrest. The ships are part of a recent offshore order worth €450 million and will install flexible pipelines in Brazilian waters, where large quantities of oil have been discovered. The delivery dates for the vessels, which will be built in The Netherlands, have been set for May and August, 2014, respectively.