Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., has signed a contract to build two 245-ft. (74.6 m) class liftboats for Cardinal Services, a subsidiary of Superior Energy Services, Inc., Harvey, La. Construction will begin at Bollinger Marine Fabricators, Inc., Amelia, La. this month with deliveries scheduled for February 2002 and June 2002.
The liftboats, which will be able to operate in water depths of up to 180-ft., will expand Superior's fleet from 49 to 51. Superior owns and operates the largest and most diverse liftboat fleet in the world.
The 245-ft. (74.6 m) class liftboats will be 141 ft. (42.9 m), with molded hulls of 67 ft. (20.4 m) and hull depths of 13 ft. (3.9 m). Their 6,550 sq. ft. deck capacities will be over 1 million lbs. each and the liftboats will have the longest leg lengths and largest cranes of any conventional liftboat in service today. Jacking will be provided by completely closed loop hydraulic systems. Each of their two cranes will have capacities of 150 tons and 30 tons. Each will have air-conditioned accommodations for 42.
The self-propelled 245's will each be powered by two Caterpillar 3512 diesel engines driving through Twin Disc reverse/reduction gears. Electrical power will be supplied by two 150 KW generator sets of 480v, 3 phase, 60 HZ with one main switchboard and one remote.
The new liftboats have been designed for domestic (Gulf of Mexico from U. S. ports) services only. They will be USCG certified Subchapter L with an ABS loadline.
"These liftboats will be the largest of their kind serving the oil and gas industry," said Terry Hall, president and CEO of Superior Energy Services.
"We will have the flexibility to put on these liftboats large spreads of our production-enhancing equipment, including mechanical wireline units, coiled tubing units, electric line units, pumping and stimulation equipment and hydraulic workover units (from recently acquired ISS). Providing multiple production-related services from a single liftboat differentiates Superior from the others because we can improve scheduling, logistics and overall project efficiency for our customers. These additional liftboats will enhance our ability to further improve project efficiencies and provide complementary well services to oil and gas producers worldwide."