The IHC Merwede stand (number 2625) will feature a diverse range of innovative vessels, advanced equipment and life-cycle support activities at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC).
The company is exhibiting at the annual event in Texas, USA, which runs from 6 to 9 May and is expected to attract 80,000 attendees from more than 110 countries. Renowned as a reliable supplier of offshore construction and support vessels, and mission equipment to the offshore market, IHC Merwede specialises in the development and delivery of integrated and efficient solutions. To highlight its capabilities, one of the main attractions on the stand will be a model of two identical 550-tonne pipelaying vessels that the company is building for SapuraKencana. Representing a major breakthrough in the offshore market, these PLSVs are the first fully integrated pipelaying vessels brought to the market, incorporating all key functional equipment developed and built exclusively in-house by IHC Merwede.
Several specialist units within IHC Merwede are designing and supplying the equipment for the two vessels, including IHC Engineering Business, IHC Hytop, IHC Piping and IHC Drives & Automation. IHC Engineering Business will also display its award-winning J-Lay tower at the exhibition, which was delivered to Saipem and is widely acknowledged as one of the largest, most versatile and efficient pipelay towers in the world. IHC Merwede Offshore Director Sales & Marketing René Raaijmakers says: "We will take this opportunity to showcase IHC Merwede’s unique proposition in the offshore market. In short, this is our ability to design, engineer and build innovative vessels and mission equipment, and deliver these products as turnkey solutions. Furthermore, our strong track record of performance allows us to provide very competitive pre- and post-delivery financing solutions to assist in making our customers’ operations highly successful.
"By working closely with our customers, we produce fully integrated systems that are optimised both in terms of performance and cost to meet their requirements without any of the potential limitations and risks of using third-party equipment suppliers. Our commitment and ability to provide customers with ongoing life-cycle support – i.e. engineering, maintenance, spare parts and a wide range of equipment for their future operations – makes IHC Merwede unique. Our ambition is to be the partner of choice for efficient offshore solutions, flexible to meet the demands of the offshore oil and gas, and renewable energy markets." Examples of the company’s advanced equipment will be exhibited by some of its specialist business units. IHC Motion Control will present a motion compensation system, which has been designed to compensate swell by over-boarding a load, and is often positioned half above and below deck. This motion compensation system is a new horizontal approach for any suitable application or it can be arranged vertically, e.g. integrated within a well intervention tower. IHC Handling Systems will also demonstrate a hydraulic release shackle, suitable for lifting modules, jackets and other objects.
By participating in the OTC’s Technical Program, IHC Merwede will also emphasise its reputation as “the technology innovator”. Representatives of IHC Mining and MTI Holland will share their expertise and present two technical papers on the following subjects: “Decisionmaking on the ocean floor”; and “New developments in the simulation of slurry behaviour in spooled hoses for offshore mining applications”.