Allseas tops Pieter Schelte

Published Nov 11, 2013 3:32 pm ET

Allseas Group is to build a second single-lift platform installation and decommissioning vessel that will exceed the lifting capacity of its Pieter Schelte unit by 50%.

The new vessel will be able to remove all platform topsides in the North Sea, including those beyond the capability ofPieter Schelte, whichis currently being completed at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in Okpo, Korea.

Image: The new vessel design, compared to the Pieter Schelte.

The new vessel will be built to the same style twin-hull design as the Pieter Schelte, but it will be 160m (525ft) wide, compared to the Pieter Schelte's 124m (406ft), and able to lift up to 72,000-ton, compared to the Pieter Schelte's 48,000-ton for topsides and 25,000-ton for jackets.

Allseas says the new vessel, which is yet to be named, will cost about Euro2.5 billion and will be operational in 2020.

A spokesman for the company said the idea for the second vessel was about two years old. From its research into the decommissioning market, Allseas Group found there were about 13 platforms the Pieter Schelte would be unable to lift, including Troll, Gullfaks and Sleipner. The new vessel would fill this gap. He said the company believed the opportunity was there to make a second vessel worth investing in.

A construction yard has not yet been selected, said Allseas. The firm said it was currently working through conceptual designs.

The Pieter Schelte is due for delivery in late 2014. It already has its first contract signed. Shell UK awarded Allseas Group the contract for the removal, transportation and load-in to shore of the topsides of three of its Brent platforms, with an option to do the same with the fourth platform. The contract also includes the removal of Brent Alpha's steel jacket.