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Ulstein to Build Its Largest Offshore Construction Vessel Ever
Edison Chouest Offshore and Island Offshore are ordering two new OCV vessels through the company Island Ventures II LLC. One vessel will be built at Ulstein Verft, Norway, one in USA.
Ulstein Verft has been contracted to build a new offshore construction vessel of the ULSTEIN SX165 design. This will be the largest vessel built at the yard so far, as well as its largest single shipbuilding contract. The vessel is scheduled for delivery Q3 2015.
“We are very pleased to develop the next generation of offshore vessels together with Edison Chouest Offshore and Island Offshore. They are companies with solid and extensive experience. We have worked very well together on other innovative projects, and look forward to delivering a high-quality product that will serve the ship owners well for years to come,” says CEO Gunvor Ulstein, Ulstein Group.
“This is a demanding and challenging construction project, which suits us in every respect. We have a solid organisation that will carry out all the engineering work. Our group can offer world-class yard facilities and designs which attract attention from both crews and ship owners. We are ready, and looking forward to the assignment,” says Kristian Sætre, managing director, Ulstein Verft.
First ULSTEIN design in USA
Island Ventures II LLC has also ordered design and engineering packages for the construction of an ULSTEIN SX165 design vessel at Edison Chouest’s own yard in the United States. In addition, this agreement includes options. This will be the first ULSTEIN designed vessel to be constructed in the U.S.
“We look forward to adding these vessels to our fleet. The cooperation between our companies is excellent and we look forward to working with ULSTEIN on the construction of these multifunctional vessels,” says CEO Gary Chouest, Edison Chouest Offshore.
Island Offshore’s current fleet includes four vessels from ULSTEIN. In addition, a construction vessel for Island Ventures II LLC is currently under construction at Ulstein Verft for delivery in June 2014.
Facts about the vessels
The newly developed SX165 design has many qualities. The vessel is 28 metres wide and 145.7 metres long and can accommodate 200 people. She is equipped with two cranes that can lift 400 tons and 140 tons, respectively. She has a large moon pool measuring 11.2 by 12 metres plus two smaller moon pools with ROVs installed in a centrally located hangar. The vessel has a total of three separate engine rooms to provide extreme operational reliability: if a major error occurs and one of the engine rooms goes out of service, the ship will still have two-thirds of her operational capacity.
Health, safety and the environment have been fully considered in the development of this design. For example, the vessel will be delivered in accordance with the international regulation MLC2006 that sets out the comfort and safety requirements for the crew. The ship has four lifeboats, two on each side. In addition, the vessel is equipped with SCR catalyst system for NOx emission reduction.
Press Release, October 25, 2013
MacGregor Provides Subsea Crane for ‘Island Intervention’
MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has won a contract to deliver a 250-tonne SWL active heave-compensated (AHC) subsea crane for the 120m construction vessel, Island Intervention. The crane was ordered by Marine Procurement Ltd, part of the US company Edison Chouest Offshore.
An existing vessel operated by the US/Norwegian partnership between Edison Chouest Offshore and Island Offshore requires greater lifting capability; a MacGregor 250-tonne SWL AHC subsea crane fulfils the upgrade requirements. Island Intervention is currently operating in the North Sea for the US/Norwegian partnership between Edison Chouest Offshore and Island Offshore. The vessel works in the offshore construction market and was delivered by Norwegian yard Ulstein Verft in 2011; its current lifting capacity is 140 tonnes.
“The vessel simply needs a bigger crane for the jobs that it undertakes,” says Frode Grøvan, Director, Sales and Marketing for Advanced Load Handling. “The order confirms the trend that we see of subsea modules getting larger and heavier, therefore requiring operators to equip their vessels with ever more capable cranes.”
“At MacGregor, we have the expertise necessary to ensure that retrofit projects like this run smoothly and successfully, with downtime kept to a minimum.”
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Galliano, LA: Edison Chouest to build 40 new supply vessels
BY: Jennifer Larino, Managing Editor
Edison Chouest Offshore said today it will build more than 40 new vessels to meet growing demand for offshore oil and gas support in the Gulf of Mexico, the Arctic and Brazil.
The new vessels continue an aggressive build campaign the Galliano-based company launched in 2011. The privately held company, which has vessels under construction at shipyards through the U.S. and in Brazil and Poland, did not disclose the cost of the newest round of builds.
Most of the construction work will be spread among Chouest’s four U.S.-affiliate shipyards — North American Shipbuilding in Larose, LaShip in Houma, Gulf Ship in Gulfport, Miss., and Tampa Ship in Tampa, Fla. — as well as its Brazilian shipyard, Navship.
The largest portion of the new build program will be the construction of 17 diesel-electric platform supply vessels. Chouest intends to market the new vessels, which feature a new hull form designed to carry more weight while lowering hydrodynamic resistance, as a more fuel-efficient option to oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico.
Chouest’s plans also include two new ice class vessels designed for service work in the Arctic and four new subsea construction vessels slated for service in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s fleet of icebreaking vessels, which will total six when the new builds are delivered, has supported Royal Dutch Shell’s drilling activity in Alaska.
Chouest also provided an update about its affiliated port facilities at Port Fourchon. The C-Port 3 facility currently under construction will open in March and feature six covered slips to transfer cargo and provide support for deepwater support vessels. Design has begun on an additional section, C-Port 4, which could have as many as nine covered slips.
The company is also planning to expand its C-Terminal worksite at Fourchon to include outside storage areas, warehouses, cement and barite plants, and fuel, water, mud and drilling fluid sales stations. Chouest purchased the facility earlier this year.
Chouest, founded as Edison Chouest Boat Rental in 1960, operates a fleet of nearly 250 offshore service and support vessels worldwide.
Ulstein Presents Benefits of Its SX121 Design
Advancement in technology is permitting the offshore oil and gas industry to move into progressively deeper and colder waters in remote locations. ULSTEIN supports this development by providing products and solutions that contribute to safer, smarter and greener operations.
A case in point is the versatile and flexible OCV/subsea vessel design SX121, which ULSTEIN is currently building customized versions of for GC Rieber Shipping and Island Offshore. The design can be tailored for a multitude of offshore construction and subsea operations in deep and ultra-deep waters both below and above the Arctic Circle.
Deepwater and ultra-deepwater projects occur outside of the continental shelf at water depths between 400 and 1,500 metres and depths greater than 1,500 metres respectively. Deep waters mean remote locations, harsh weather conditions and sensitive ecosystems. This type of environment requires vessels that are reliable and safe, cost-efficient and environmentally sound.
“We aim to develop ships that can operate reliably, safely and efficiently in harsh conditions with as small an environmental footprint as possible. The robust configuration, system integration and X-BOW® hull line of the SX121 ensure safety and comfort for the crew, an increased operational window and significantly reduced environmental impact,” says sales manager in Ulstein Design & Solutions, Lars Ståle Skoge.
Currently, there are four sailing SX121 vessels designed and built by ULSTEIN. The vessels, which operate in different segments such as offshore construction, riserless well intervention and inspection/maintenance/repair, have received very good feedback.
Gordon L. Wilkinson in Veolia ES said the following about ‘Viking Poseidon’’s work in the Gulf of Mexico: “She is the Queen of the Gulf.”
At the end of 2012 shipowner Island Offshore, together with their American partner Edison Chouest Offshore, ordered another SX121 vessel from ULSTEIN currently under construction at Ulstein Verft. “We’ve received very good feedback on our two operating vessels of this design, ‘Island Constructor’ and ‘Island Intervention’,” says Technical Manager in Island Offshore, Trond Hauge. “I’m confident that this type of vessel is a safe and comfortable platform for the performance of advanced work in the years to come.”
Optimized for heavier installations
“The SX121 is a compact vessel that can perform deepwater and ultra-deepwater operations for which currently larger vessels are frequently used, thus providing the customer with a more cost-efficient solution,” says Håvard Stave, Sales Manager in Ulstein Verft.
“The typical SX121 vessel operates at depths down to 3,000 metres, which comprises most current oil & gas activities. The need to deploy heavier equipment in deep waters such as offshore Brazil and Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico, has spurred market interest in OCV vessels with a 400-tonne crane, which we’ve now incorporated in the SX121 design.”
ULSTEIN has drawn on experiences from its latest SX121 projects, and optimized the utilization of the hull with regards to work from deck as well as crane construction work, resulting in an even more versatile OCV/subsea vessel.
The robust platform is optimized for efficient operations in deep waters with a crane capacity of up to 400 tonnes and a substantial remaining deck loading capacity, and it can be configured for a variety of mission equipment. There is a large deck area of 1,750 m2, and the area around the main moon pool is reinforced in order to sustain a VLS or module handling system. The ROV installation is designed and chosen for operations in significant wave heights of 4.5 metres or more. Two heavy-duty work ROVs are situated in the enclosed hangar, one to be deployed from the starboard side, the other through a dedicated moon pool.
Extended redundancy
A reliable vessel is key for cost-efficiency, as down-time and aborting on-going operations are costly affairs, particularly when operating far from shore.
The SX121 vessel meets the highest standard for position keeping, DYNPOS-AUTRO, with redundancy on all major components. Featuring the ‘Operation+’ concept, an increase in redundancy in AUTR operations if a single major failure occurs, the vessel will still maintain system redundancy throughout the most critical areas. The typical configuration is diesel electric propulsion powered by six identical medium speed main generator sets. The switchboard system, propellers and diesel motors can be configured in groups of two, three or four. If a major failure occurs, the vessel will only lose one third of its power and propulsion. The combination of system architecture and power stations, three side thrusters and three main thrusters, ensures that the operation can be safely completed using two thirds of its capacity.
Smart and safe
In order to optimize capacities and performance of the vessel, the freeboard has been increased by one metre compared with the previously built vessels of this design. This increase also improves safety and ensures a dry work deck. In addition, the helideck has been moved further back in order to increase the weather window for helicopter landings.
The vessel’s X-BOW provides good motion characteristics for safe operations. It also reduces the vessel’s environmental footprint through lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions. With optimized resolution of the power generation plant, the vessel will have high fuel efficiency in all operational modes.
The vessel accommodates a crew of 130 and complies with all international requirements for comfort and safety.
USA: ECO Shipyard Christens New Icebreaker Built for Shell
Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) Shipyard in Larose, Louisiana on March 24th 2012 held christening ceremony for Shell’s new 360 foot long icebreaker “Aiviq”. This new Arctic ice class anchor handler under construction for Shell is the largest and most advanced ship ever designed and constructed by ECO.
M/V Aiviq, the newest vessel being built by Edison Chouest Offshore, will be one of the most advanced and powerful U.S. non-military, ice breakers on the water. The vessel is being built to Polar Code 3 and measures 360′ long, 80′ wide, with a 29′ draft. Its primary mission will be to support offshore development in the Arctic. This vessel is the very first of its class to be built in the United States.
The vessel was ordered in July 2009 and is scheduled for delivery in April 2012. It is being built to American Bureau of Shipping A3 class—capable of breaking ice 1m thick at a speed of 5 knots. Her propellers are reported to have been specially designed to be quieter than normal, in order to be less disruptive to local marine life.
The price tag for the Aiviq will be around USD 200 mln. Its main task will be laying anchors for drilling rigs. Also, Aiviq will be equipped for the oil spill clean-up operations.
Edison Chouest Orders PSV in Poland
REMONTOWA SHIPBUILDING S.A has signed a contract for building of a Platform Supply Vessel for Edison Chouest Offshore from Louisiana, USA.
New building vessel is continuation of the series of four units of the same type which has been started last year. She will be built according to the project elaborated by polish design office MMC Ship Design & Marine Consulting Ltd from Gdynia. The vessel will be equipped with Diesel – Electric propulsion system allowing most cost efficient exploitation, reduction of fuel consumption and lower emission of NOx and SOx to the atmosphere.
Working deck of 1000 m2 will enable to carry high-volume goods, which makes that vessel the biggest one in her class. Technically advanced vessel will operate the complex deep-water operations in the region of South America and Africa.
The vessel will be equipped with Class 2 dynamic positioning system and fitted to operations in world – wide sea areas, in each weather conditions. After completion of the construction and carriage of complex sea trials, the vessel will be delivered to the Owner in the fourth quarter of 2013. The contract includes an option to build another, sister vessel.
Articles
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- Norway: Northern River MPSV Sails to New Owner
- Norway: Bourbon Front PSV en Route to North Sea
- Germany: Second New Building Vessel Type 183 Almost Completed for SAL
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