Norwegian company Ulstein Verft is building two medium-sized platform supply vessels to its PX121 design for a newly-established company within the wider Ulstein Group.
The vessels will be delivered in Q1 and Q3 2012.
According to the yard, the sisters will measure 83.4m length overall by 18m breadth. They will have a cargo deck of 875sq m and load capacity of 4,200 tonnes deadweight.
Both the hull and propulsion system have been selected to be particularly well suited for the North Sea and the North Atlantic.
The ships meet the requirements of Clean Design, and have treatment systems for ballast water and are prepared for fire-fighting class Fi-Fi 2.
Beyond the usual tanks for oil, water and drilling fluids, the vessels have four stainless steel tanks for flammable liquids, such as methanol.
They will have a top speed of at least 15 knots but will be optimised for low fuel consumption at a speed of 12 knots.
They are equipped for 24 persons in 17 cabins, with modern accommodation. The two ships will be build numbers 291 and 294 at Ulstein Verft, and mean the yard’s order book is full until the middle of 2012.
Group CEO Gunvor Ulstein said he strongly believed that there would be an increase in demand for this type of medium-sized platform supply vessel (PSV), and added the company’s own yard was best suited to the job.
“On the basis of competence, quality and benchmarking of prices, Ulstein Verft is competitive, and it is an advantage that we can use our own yard to build the first vessels in this series,” said Ulstein.
“Ulstein Verft has attractive delivery timeframes and the ships will be completed at a period where the market will need this type of tonnage.”
Tore Ulstein, head of Ulstein Design & Solutions, said: “The vessels will be built with the X-Bow hull design that is particularly well suited for this type of vessel. A bow of this type will, in good weather, offer the same efficiency as a traditional bow with a bulb, but over a large variation in depth foregoing.
“In addition, the X-Bow has unique characteristics in terms of motion and propulsion efficiency in heavy seas, and this is a positive contribution to the well-being on board, as well as efficiency.”
Meanwhile, Saipem has been awarded new offshore contracts worth some $700million, covering work in 2011 and 2014, in the US Gulf of Mexico and the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.
The US Gulf contract is for the Walker Ridge export pipeline, which will carry the output of the Chevron-operated Jack and Saint Malo (JSM) fields, which are located some 450km (280 miles) south of New Orleans, Louisiana, on blocks 678 and 758.
Amberjack Pipeline Company, a partnership between Chevron Pipe Line Company and Shell Pipeline Company, is responsible for construction of the new link.
The scope of work encompasses the transportation and installation of a crude oil export pipeline, 61cm (24-inch) in diameter, which will have a length of 220km (136 miles), reaching a maximum water depth of 2,140m (7,000ft), connecting the JSM semi-floating production unit to Chevron’s Green Canyon Block 19 platform.
The marine activities will be performed by Saipem’s new-build pipelayer vessel, Castorone, starting in Q1 2013.
This will be the first job for the Castorone, which is currently under construction and designed to lay large-diameter pipelines up to 152cm (60 inches including coating).
The ship will measure 330m (1,083ft) length overall, by 39m (128ft) breadth, and will be equipped with a DP3 class dynamic positioning system.
In Kazakhstan, Saipem has signed an extension of its contract with Agip KCO, for the installation of the offshore facilities system linked with the experimental phase of the Kashagan field development programme (piles and flares).
The contract, which has been extended to December 2011, encompasses the fabrication, assembly, transport and installation of the flares and the piles sustaining the offshore structures, along with the installation of 14 module barges.
The procurement, fabrication and installation of associated mooring, protection and interconnection structures is included in the scope of the work.
Offshore activities will be carried out using the Ersai 1, a construction barge built specifically for the task. The piles, flares and other structures are being fabricated in Ersai’s Kuryk yard in Kazakhstan, in which Saipem has a 50% interest.