Page 25: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Apr/May 2015)

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Analysis on the heavy lift capability currently available in the global off- shore market, both for platform installation and decommission- ing; and pipelay with its 2000-tonne (2205 short tons) tension capacity S-Lay pipelay package. Its lift capability is 48,000- tonne (53,000 short tons) for topsides and 25,000-tonne (27,500 short tons) for jackets.

Installation of the jacket lifting equipment has been delayed, but will be installed in time to lift the jacket on Shell’s Brent

Alpha platform, which is part of a multi-platform lifting con- tract Allseas has with Shell on the Brents. The vessel’s pipelay stinger has been fabricated and is in Vlissingen, Netherlands, ready to be installed.

For Statoil, the Pioneering Spirit will install three topsides (ca.26,000-ton production platform, ca.25,000-tonne drilling platform and 19,500-tonne living quarters) and interconnecting bridges on Johan Sverdrup in 2018 and 2019.

The vessel, which will remain in Rotterdam for the comple- tion of the installation of its eight twin sets of lifting beams, already has contracts with Shell and Talisman for single lift and decommissioning jobs, all secured ahead of its fnal completion.

Pioneering Spirit ’s lifting beams loom from its bows.

Heerema said the development of the vessel had been a “roller coaster ride” with the designers, builders, and those

Grace, expected to cost more than €3 billion, is due to be deliv- who had to secure contracts for the vessel. Initially, Allseas ered in 2021, but Allseas has yet to choose a fabrication yard, had planned to use two very large crude carriers to create the

Edward Heerema said. vessel, which would have been anchored to perform opera- “She has to be able to lift the heaviest, the widest and the tions. But after some consideration a newbuild, DP vessel, with largest topsides in the world,” he said, such as Troll, Sleipner, more complex motion compensation was chosen, using Daewoo

Gullfaks and Magnus in the North Sea. “She will be similar to Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Korea.

The frst job for the Pioneering Spirit will be lifting off

Pioneering Spirit, having two bows on a big single ship, but the

Talisman’s doomed Yme topsides in the Norwegian North Sea. lifting method will be slightly different,” he said, suggesting an evolution of the Pioneering Spirit’s design. “We are excited about the idea we have, but it is still a fuid design.”

Pioneering Spirit was designed to make a signifcant impact

The Verft shipyard. It is a DP3 ves- and commissioning activities,

Island Performer, which recently completed its sel measuring 427ft (130m) acid stimulation, scale treat- frst job investigating the sea long, and it comes equipped ment, hydrate remediation, and bottom in Norway, hoped to with a 250-tonne active heave inspection, maintenance, and drum up local business while compensated crane with below repair (IMR) work.

in town, and laissez les bon deck winch. The is a

Island Performer temps rouler (let the good It also comes with two UHD Norwegian comfort class ves- times roll), as the locals say. deep-sea ROVs provided by sel with accommodations for

The vessel has been C-Innovation. ROV operators, 130. The interior of the vessel equipped with a new deep- working in 12-hour shifts, can impressively cuts down much of water riserless light well view operations from a comfort- the noise pollution and vibration intervention stack from FMC able control room onboard. A from its diesel electric propul-

Technologies, which enables trainer with C-Innovation said sion system . • the vessel to carry out well that operators meticulously log —

Audrey Leon interventions at depths of information about the wells, up to 6500ft (2000m) and whether they’ve worked on a

FURTHER READING pressures of 10,000psi. The specifc piece or not to ensure intervention tower sits just proper documentation for www.oedigital.com/oe-media/ over the 8m x 8m moon future planning purposes.

oe-videos/item/6125-ulstein- pool, which is over the ship’s During a tour of the vessel, unveils-island-performer center of gravity. an FTO spokesman said that in

The is the event that the vessel begins

Island Performer www.oedigital.com/ an Ulstein-designed SX121 to shift during operations, the component/k2/ model, built by the Ulstein stack is designed to shear of item/6328-intervention-allies the tool and seal the well.

In addition to well interven-

FMC Technologies’ deepwater tion work, the intervention stack on board

Island Performer the

Island Performer.

can also undertake installation oedigital.com April 2015 | OE 27 025_OE0415_InDepth-rotterdamVessels_v1em.indd 27 3/23/15 2:21 PM