Crediting the project team, crew dedication and new pipelay technology for the Gulf of Mexico, Stolt Offshore project manager William Dick announced a high lay-rate achievement on the Williams East Breaks large-diameter pipelay shelf project offshore Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. The shelf pipeline will gather gas production from the proposed deepwater Boomvang/Nansen spars for market delivery and processing. Dick advises that on June 28, “Derrick/lay barge 801” achieved its highest lay rate of 327 joints in a single day on 24-inch diameter pipe with .562-inch wall thickness. “There are not a lot of vessels worldwide—which lay large-diameter pipe—that can beat that achievement.