Dutch offshore contractor Heerema Offshore Services has inked a deal with a Singapore shipyard to build what it says will be the world's largest semisubmersible crane vessel (pictured).
The vessel, whose designed was unveiled in March last year, will sport two of the world's largest cranes, at 10,000-tonne capacity each, on a 214m-long and 97.5m-wide eight-column semisubmersible hull structure on two pontoons.
Heerema Offshore Services, part of Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC), is to use Sembcorp Marine subsidiary Jurong Shipyard to engineer and construct the world’s largest semisubmersible crane vessel (NSCV), under a letter of intent (LOI) signed by the firms.
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The vessel's dual, tub-mounted cranes are being designed and built by fellow dutch contractor Huisman Equipment, at its yard in China. They will be used to install and remove offshore facilities, including subsea structures, foundations, moorings, and floating structures in deep water.
According to Huisman, unlike traditional tub cranes, which make use of either bogies or large wheels for their slew system, the Huisman cranes will make use of large bearings of the company's design, which are manufactured in-house.
Last year, HMC signed a basic design contract with KBR subsuduary GVA fr the development of the new cranes.
Image (left): William Gu, Jurong general manager offshore oand Klaver, HMC CEO signing the LOI. From HMC.
The NSCV will be DP3 and self-propelled with a transit speed of 10 knots, with dual-fuel power generation (marine gas oil and LNG).
HMC says the introduction of the NSCV will enable HMC to meet demand for lifting capacity beyond what HMC can currently offer through its existing fleet, comprising the Thialf, currently the world's largest carne vessel, Balder and Hermod. The 201.6m-long and 88.4m-wide Thialf has two cranes with heavy lift capacity up to 14,200-tonne. The NSCV's cranes will total 20,000-tonne. Additionally, the NSCV's large reinforced work deck will increase efficiency when installing or removing offshore facilities.
“Our letter of intent with Jurong Shipyard represents the next critical step in our plans to introduce the NSCV to the market," says Jan-Pieter Klaver, HMC's CEO. "The fact that we decided to press on with our plans in these times of low oil prices, shows our belief in the offshore oil and gas industry and demonstrates our continued commitment to offer unparalleled installation services to the industry. We are confident that with Jurong we have found a reliable partner that can build the world largest crane vessel.”
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