Allseas to Build Second Platform Decommissioning Cat Larger Than Pieter Schelte

Illustration of Pieter Schelte. Image courtesy Allseas

Swiss-based Allseas announced Monday its plans to build a second single-lift platform installation and decommissioning catamaran at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in South Korea.

Allseas says that the new vessel will be larger than the Pieter Schelte, which is currently under construction at DSME, with the ability to remove all platform topsides in the North Sea which are beyond the capability of Pieter Schelte.

SEE ALSO: Giant Catamaran to Carry Worn Out North Sea Platforms Ashore

In addition to decommissioning, the vessel is designed for worldwide installation of very large topsides.

The new vessel will have a topside lift capacity will be 72,000 metric tons, exceeding the capacity of Allseas’ Pieter Schelte by a whopping 50%. In addition to its increased lifting capacity, the new vessel will have a width of 160m (525 ft), wider than the Pieter Schelte by 34 meters, Allseas says.

Like the Pieter Schelte, the concept of the ship is simple: the vessel will sail up to a decommissioned platform, guiding the topside between its two hulls before using hydraulic clamps to lift and carried it to shore.

Pieter Schelte, with a lifting capacity of 48,000 metric tons, will more than quadruple the current top capacity and has already been signed up to remove platforms from Shell’s Brent North Sea field, beginning with Brent Delta in 2015 or 2016.

The new vessel, which is so far unnamed, is expected to be operational in 2020, according to Allseas.

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