Pipelay News

Offshore installation contractor Allseas has made progress on the installation of the pipeline for Santos’ Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) project offshore Australia.Allseas’ Audacia pipelay vessel has installed her largest ever PLET in S-mode, concluding several years of in-house engineering, fabrication and testing, the Swiss-based contractor said.Due to the weight of the pipeline end termination structure, Allseas’ production crew had to install it separately to the connector head.Audacia vessels is being supported with four other vessels - Fortitude…

Saipem has signed a letter of intent for the development of CO2 offshore transportation and storage facilities as part of the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZTP) projects for the East Coast Cluster in the UK.Saipem signed a Letter of Intent, received by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a joint venture between the operator BP, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power), a joint venture between BP and Equinor.The…

The floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel Gimi, that is a core component of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project, has arrived at its destination on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border.The FLNG vessel Gimi is at the heart of the GTA Phase 1 development, operated by BP with partners, Kosmos Energy, PETROSEN and SMH.GTA Phase 1 is set to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG per year. The innovative project is expected to produce LNG for more than 20 years…

Dutch company Huisman has secured a contract from Subsea 7 for the delivery of its 500MT offshore mast crane for one of pipelay vessels for deep water installations.The 500mt Offshore Mast Crane will be equipped with a passive and active heave compensation system on the main hoist to counter-act the vessel’s heave motion when landing a product onto the seabed.Huisman has upgraded its heave compensation system with a variety of new control modes to extend the operational window…

Santos has issued a statement after the decision of the Federal Court of Australia on November 15 ruling that pipelay activities can commence on an 86-kilometer section of pipeline for the Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) – but not south of kilometre point 86 (KP86).This southern section would pass to the west of the Tiwi Islands.The Court has set December 4, 2023 as the date of commencement of the hearing of application brought by Jikilaruwu traditional owner Simon Munkara and…

Offshore installation services firm Allseas has inaugurated 'Sandpiper', its new barge for shallow water offshore construction activities.Allseas said Thursday that the 170-meter barge was inaugurated this week in Singapore with a special ceremony after several upgrading activities in 2022/2023. The vessel is is a flat-bottom, anchored barge for shallow water offshore construction activities, purchased by Allseas in 2022 and upgraded for pipelaying in 2022/23.Sandpiper is equipped with a 10-point mooring system…

Wave measurement specialist Miros said Tuesday it had secured numerous contracts with new clients in the offshore vessel market during the first half of this year for its sea state as a service offering.The new as a service (aaS) contracts span the global offshore vessel market, with particular emphasis on the key markets of UKCS, Norway, and Brazil, Miros said, without providing details on contract values or client identities.The projects will see the Miros WaveSystem deployed across vessels…

Skandi Buzios, a pipelay support vessel owned by TechnipFMC and DOF, caught fire Friday morning in a Brazilian port.The Brazilian media and some social media accounts on Friday showed images and videos of the burning vessel with thick smoke billowing above it and firefighters trying to quell the fire.The incident happened at Porto do Açu, in São João da Barra, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, and no injuries have been reported.Offshore Engineer has reached out to TechnipFMC seeking more info. "On Friday morning, June 2, a fire occurred onboard Skandi Buzios while the vessel was alongside Porto do Açu in Brazil. All personnel are safe, and no serious injuries were sustained. The fire has been brought under control after efforts by our crew, Porto do Açu, and local authorities.

An ailing crewmember was airlifted from a pipelay vessel in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday from the Solitaire of a 32-year-old crewmember aboard experiencing severe abdominal pain.Sector New Orleans watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.

Ship design company Ulstein Design & Solutions has designed an offshore wind installation vessel that it says is "a safer, smarter, and more competitive ship design solution for transporting, upending and installing large monopiles on DP."The patent-pending U-STERN design, according to the company, enables longitudinal storage of monopiles and upending in the ship center line. "This allows the ship to head into the waves during the installation process, minimizing ship motions and fuel consumption, while the U-STERN provides excellent shielding from the waves.

An ailing crewmember was medevaced from an offshore pipelay barge in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector Houston-Galveston received a medevac request relay from Coast Guard District Eight at 6:45 a.m. stating a 42-year-old crew member aboard the 265-foot-long DLB Super Chief was experiencing seizures. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac.A Coast Guard Air Station…

Allseas is fitting its pipelay vessels Solitaire and Audacia, as well as the multi-purpose vessel Fortitude, with hybrid power technology from Kongsberg Maritime.The offshore installation firm says that vessel hybridization is key to its strategy to minimize the impact on the environment by optimizing efficiency and reducing emissions across its operations."Energy storage technology optimizes energy and load-sharing capability. Batteries store energy when demand is low and deliver it back when demand increases, shaving peaks in power demand. The result is optimal engine loading with improved fuel efficiency and reduced running hours."…

Edward Heerema, founder and president of the offshore installation services firm Allseas, has decided to step aside after nearly forty years at the helm. His eldest son Pieter will assume the role of president of the Allseas Group. According to Allseas, Edward Heerema will remain as chairman and concentrate on developing and integrating new technological developments. Edward Heerema launched Allseas in 1985 and has since built the company into a global offshore contractor.In a press statement announcing the change at the helm…

Subsea 7 has awarded Miros Group agreements to install its internet of things (IoT) dry-sensor WaveSystem on three of its pipelay support vessels, ti deliver accurate wave measurements via Miros' cloud-based graphical user interface (GUI) Miros.app.As part of three 3-year contracts and project requirements for the monitoring of wave and current to a water depth of 10 meters, WaveSystem will be installed on Seven Waves, Seven Rio and Seven Sun vessels, and the deal will see Subsea…

McDermott held a christening ceremony for its newly converted vessel Amazon in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Following the conversion, the vessel's upgraded specifications enable highly automated operations, the production of hex joints from single or double joints using an onboard multi-joint facility and a pipe hold capacity of 10,000 metric tons. Its increased level of automation also enables a significant reduction in the crew numbers required to safely perform pipelay operations…

Edward Heerema is founder and president of Allseas, which brought the world’s largest construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit, to the market. The company, which also brought innovation to the pipelay sector, has added its latest trick to Pioneering Spirit – its jacket lift system. But Allseas is also targeting deepsea mining and has its sights on the offshore wind market. Elaine Maslin caught up with Edward Heerema to find out more.The first time I met Edward Heerema was at the company’s offices in Delft, in the Netherlands.

The U.S. subsidiary of Norwegian offshore vessels owner DOF Subsea said it has secured multiple contracts for the construction support vessel Ross Candies.The 2010-built Ross Candies is one of two Jones Act-compliant vessels chartered by DOF Subsea USA from Otto Candies for operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Under its latest contracts, the 309-foot vessel will be utilized well into Q3 2022, undertaking jumper installations, span remediation, pre-commissioning, decommissioning, pipelay support and IMR activities at multiple field locations in the Gulf of Mexico, DOF said.

Subsea 7 has announced a very large award by Petrobras for new long-term day-rate contracts for the pipelay support vessels (PLSV) Seven Waves, Seven Rio and Seven Sun.The offshore installation services firm said Tuesday that the contracts were worth between $500 million and $750 million in total.Each contract comprises a firm three-year period and a subsequent one-year option. Seven Waves will start the new contract in the first quarter 2022. Seven Rio will start the new contract in the second quarter 2022. Seven Sun will startthe new contract in the third quarter 2022. Before starting the new contracts, each vessel will undergo minor modifications requiring a short shipyard stay and modest capital expenditure…

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Subsea has won more work in Brazil with Petrobras.After a recent three-year contract secured for a pipelay support vessel duo co-owned with TechnipFMC, DOF Subsea said Thursday it had secured a contract extension with Petrobras for the diving support vessel Skandi Achiever.The extension will see the Skandi Achiever stay with Petrobras until the fourth quarter of 2022, providing ROV and diving services until the fourth quarter of 2022. DOF did not share the financial details.Built in 2007, the Skandi Achiever is 105.9 meters long and can accommodate 100 persons, and features an 18 men saturated diving system.The vessel has a 4.2 x 4.2-meter moonpool, and an ROV hangar of 137 square meters.TechnipFMC Says Vessel Contract with Petrobras 'Significant'

Offshore installation firm McDermott said Monday that its upgraded Amazon vessel was coming to the Gulf of Mexico to support a subsea contract for the Whale Development in Alaminos Canyon.Oil major Shell in July reached a final investment decision for its Whale deepwater field development. Discovered in 2017, Whale will feature a semi-submersible production host in more than 8,600 feet (2621 meters) of water with 15 oil-producing wells.McDermott will provide engineering, procurement…

Oilfield services giant TechnipFMC has shed more light on vessel contracts it recently secured with Petrobras in Brazil in cooperation with the Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF.DOF last week said it had, in JV with TechnipFMC, secured three-year contracts for two pipelay support vessels Skandi Vitória and Skandi Niteroi, without sharing further details on the scope of work awarded nor on the value.TechnipFMC on Tuesday issued a separate statement in which it said the contracts were "significant" which for TechnipFMC means as having a value between $75 million and $250 million.The Brazilian-built and flagged vessels are owned by DOFCON Navegação Ltda, a 50/50 JV between TechnipFMC and DOF Subsea.

Brazilian oil company Petrobras has contracted awarded contracts for two pipelay support vessels owned by DOF and TechnipFMC.Oslo-listed DOF Subsea said Tuesday that the contracts, for three years each, are for the vessels Skandi Vitória and Skandi Niteroi, secured via JV partner TechnipFMC and via Norskan Offshore, respectively.Both vessels are Brazilian-built and flagged and owned by DOFCON Navegação Ltda., a joint venture between DOF Subsea (50%) and TechnipFMC (50%).Operations will start in February 2022 at the latest. No financial details were shared.Skandi Vitória was the first pipelay vessel built in Brazil, equipped with vertical and horizontal pipelay systems, a 250-tonne crane and two work ROVs (remotely operated vehicles).

The much-politicized Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is 99% complete, the pipeline operator said on Wednesday, after the pipelay vessel Akademik Cherskiy finished its initially planned workload.The $11 billion Nord Stream 2, designed to bypass Russia's political foe Ukraine and double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream pipeline to 110 billion cubic meters per year, has been a focal point of tensions between Moscow and Washington.The construction of the pipeline has been hampered by sanctions introduced by the United States at the end of 2019…