WILTON Engineering Services of Teeside has successfully built and delivered one of the world’s largest pipeline lay towers to construction, heavy-lift and pipelay specialist Saipem.
The J Lay tower, plus ancillary equipment, was fabricated at the Port Clarence offshore base, Middlesbrough, and will be installed aboard the Italian group’s new multipurpose construction vessel, the 183m FDS2 (Field Development Ship-2).
Awarded to Wilton in 2008 by IHC EB, this was a complex piece of work and a clear demonstration of what British companies are capable of if they have the right mindset. The tower will, when erect, have a height of about 80m. It weighs in at some 1,800 tonnes, with a top tension capacity of 1,500 tonnes. It will be able to handle pipeline of up to 36in in diameter and to instal it in depths to 3,000m.
The load-out was no easy task but, utilising both Wilton’s roll-on/roll-off angled quay and its main quay with heavy-lift equipment, the structure was safely and steadily loaded out on to the transportation vessel – which has since delivered it to South Korea, where the ship is being built by Samsung.
Wilton Group global business ambassador Des Hatfield said of the achievement: “With all the gloom and doom currently surrounding the world’s economies, it’s very rewarding at this time for a company like Wilton, based in the north-east of England, to still be producing high-quality, high-specification structures and equipment for the world’s largest and best offshore contractors like Saipem, Technip and Acergy.
“With new contracts of a similar type now in production, we look forward to expanding our expertise and services in the UK and overseas.”