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Pieter Schelte Renamed

Pieter Schelte Renamed

Rob Almeida
Total Views: 129
February 9, 2015

Pieter Schelte arrives in Rotterdam, January 2015. Photo: KOTUG International B.V.

Allseas’ giant oil rig decommissioning vessel was initially named after Pieter Schelte Heerema who besides creating one of the world’s premier offshore contracting companies, had also spent time in prison after being convicted of war crimes while serving as a Waffen-SS officer during World War II.

Heerema had deserted from the Nazis and ended up joining the Dutch resistance in 1943 however.

As the full story of this man came to light, outrage spread throughout Europe that such an impressive and conspicuous ship would be linked to a person who, besides being incredibly influential within the offshore sector, had a checkered past.

Allseas has announced today the ship is now being renamed “Pioneering Spirit” reflecting the new technological step in platform installation and decommissioning that this vessel represents.

“It also fits the 30-year tradition of Allseas to pioneer and surpass technical boundaries, as was done over the years introducing pipelay on dynamic positioning and laying pipelines in ever deeper waters. This vessel encompasses all innovations that have been developed by Allseas over the last 30 years,” Allseas notes in a statement on Monday.

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