HHI and Wartsila Win Bid for New Heavy Construction Vessel

Wärtsilä announced today they have won the design contract for a large heavy construction vessel (HCV) to be built at Hyundai Heavy Industries for Subsea 7. Their VS 4285 HCV design was chosen out of a number of different designs proposed for the new ship by other engineering firms.  Once delivered in 2016, the yet unnamed vessel will be one of most capable heavy construction vessels in Subsea 7’s fleet of over 40 ships.

Impressive features of this vessel include it’s ultra-powerful Huisman 600 ton active heave compensated crane and it’s 325 ton amidships vertical pipe-lay system. Wärtsilä notes this vessel is designed to operate efficiently year-round in deep and ultra-deep waters and in harsher environments.

In an emailed statement, Riku-Pekka Hagg, Vice President Wärtsilä Ship Design commented, “We have enjoyed a successful co-operation with both Subsea 7 and HHI, major players in their industries. This latest order follows the contract that Wärtsilä received last year to design a dive support vessel (DSV) for Subsea 7, which is also being built by HHI.”

While at NorShipping, I spoke with Wärtsilä naval architect and General Manager of Offshore Sales, Erlend Sandvik. He notes the design of this vessel has been a team effort of at least 10 of his colleagues from their design office in Fitjar, Norway, a design they are extremely proud of.  He declined however, to give us an idea of the contract price.

Vessel Particulars: