Far East-Levingston Building Pipelay Barge For NPCC, Abu Dhabi

Far East-Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd. has been awarded a contract to build a pipelay barge for the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), Abu Dhabi.

The pipelay barge, measuring 106 meters in length (about 348 feet), 30 meters in breadth (about 98 feet), and 7.5 meters in depth (about 25 feet), with a designed draft of 4.2 meters (about 14 feet), is intended for operations in water depth ranging from 16 to 100 feet in the Arabian Gulf, with weather conditions of the area taken into account. Five welding stations provide central lay of heavily coated concrete pipe ranging from 6 to 24 inches diameter, with capability to lay up to 42 inches diameter.

All pipe handling on both sides of the central lay line is fully automated. The pipe tensioning equipment has a capacity of 100,000 pounds and includes a single drum abandon-and-recovery winch which is remote controlled.

The barge is provided with ballasting ballasting capacity to enable adjustments for drafts, list and trim.

Air-conditioned quarters are provided for 230 men, including a hospital.

The barge is constructed, fully equipped and outfitted in accordance to the classification of American Bureau of Shipping, Maltese Cross, all ocean, and to U.S. Coast Guard standards. Special consideration in building has been given to eliminate factors contributing to barge downtime due to difficult or frequent maintenance or repair or access to such components that may require maintenance or repair.

Far East-Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd. is a Singapore-based builder of offshore and marine equipment. Past projects have included several types of jackup mobile offshore drilling units, semisubmersibles, drillships and craneships. A current project involves a jackup for delivery to Saudi Arabia.

Far East-Levingston Shipbuilding is a member of the Keppel Group of Singapore and is entirely Singapore-owned and managed.

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