Heerema Investing $1 Billion for New Deepwater Construction Vessel

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) is investing $1 billion in a new deepwater construction vessel. The new vessel will feature unrivalled speeds and state-of-the-art equipment. It will enable HMC to operate in remote areas and ultra deepwater increasing the pace of field development worldwide. Once the vessel enters the market in 2010, it will secure construction capacity for at least another three decades.

The conceptual design was prepared in-house Heerema Marine Contractors.

The new vessel will be 220 meters long, 88 meters wide and 44 meters depth. It will have a maximum speed of 20 knots: up to four times the speed of our current deepwater construction vessels. The high speed capacity of the new vessel will dramatically cut travel time between projects and provide our clients with more productivity in a broader range of geographic areas.

There will be facilities for 550 people, upgradeable to 750 people. Payload is 25,000 tonnes and the power generation capacity will be of 75 MW. The Dynamic Positioning Station keeping system will be of NMD Class III.

The dual crane capacity of 15,000 mT enables us to continue installing the largest and heaviest fixed and floating structures to date. The new J-Lay tower and deepwater lowering construction means we can install pipelines and structures from 200 - 3,500 meters water depth with a maximum of 32"O.D. The tension capacity will be 2,000 mT: this is double the capacity of the Balder.

Opening up the Arctic frontier
Because of its design and speed, the new vessel will make offshore construction in the Arctic feasible. The placement of the cranes, the J-Lay tower and other installation equipment, as well as the structural quality of the hull and thrusters, are well suited for the Arctic.

Next steps -to be expected this summer- will be the long-lead ordering of key components, such as the cranes and J-Lay Tower. Options are currently being discussed with possible suppliers.

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) based in Leiden, The Netherlands, is the world leading offshore construction company for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities. The fleet now consists of three crane vessels (Thialf, Hermod and Balder). HMC is a division within the Heerema Group.