Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has issued a letter of intent to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) for the building of a new deepwater construction vessel.
The 210m new-build will have a price tag of $600-700million.
Heerema says it has decided to construct a monohull with the capability to execute complex deepwater infrastructure and pipeline projects in ultra-deep water, and also with sufficient lifting capacity to execute installation of fixed platforms in relatively shallow water.
A key attribute of the vessel will be its fast transit speed. HMC says this will complement its existing fleet providing a unique fleet composition to serve the worldwide offshore oil&gas industry.
Daewoo Shipbuilding has been awarded the design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and testing of the vessel. Huisman has the contract for the cranes, tower, and reels.
The vessel is scheduled for completion of all tests and trials by mid-2013.
Jan Pieter Klaver, HMC’s CEO, said in a statement: “With this new deepwater construction vessel, HMC will reinforce its unique position in the deepwater pipelay market.
“We are confident that, with DSME and Huisman, we found reliable partners who can build a key asset that will assist us in expanding further into more ultra-deep and complex SURF (subsea) projects globally.”
The 210m ship will be fitted with a pipelay tower for J-lay (tension capacity of 2,000 tonnes) and reeling. The designed maximum pipe payload is 4,500 tonnes. The main crane will have a “revolving” lift capacity of 4,000 tonnes, while the subsea winching system will be capable to a water depth of 3,500m (11,480ft) , which makes it compatible with the Dutch company’s deepwater construction vessel, Balder.
The new ship will also be equipped with a class 3 dynamic-positioning system. The hull has been specially designed for high transit speeds and optimum motion characteristics during operations.
The vessel’s accommodation will be built to a high standard and be capable of coping with up to 289 crew and operations personnel.