Arctic technology: Winterisation of FPSO 38 Cruise ... - Ship & Offshore

Seismic vessels for arctic waters
ULSTEIN | Polarcus, a provider of marine
geophysical services, has ordered construction
of two seismic vessels of the new
generation type SX134 at the Ulstein Verft
shipyard. The shipowner has previously
ordered several Ulstein-designed ships at
various yards, all of them with the X-BOW®
hull line design.
The two new generation Ulstein SX134s
will receive their ICE-1A* class notation
from DNV. This notation allows the vessels
to operate in arctic waters under harsh ice
conditions without the assistance of icebreakers.
The entire vessel is ice-reinforced
with thicker ribs and skin plates. The vessel
has de-icing and ice-preventing systems
at critical tanks and pipelines. Propellers,
gears and thrusters have been chosen and
dimensioned based on specifi c rules for
withstanding operation in ice. The two
propellers are run by two electro engines
each, which ensure continuing operation
and manoeuvering if parts of equipment
are damaged. In addition, the ship has the
DNV notation “Winterised Basic”. Escape
corridors and rescue equipment are also
protected against icing during arctic operations.
The vessel will have two workboats
and an MOB on board.
The two vessels will be equipped for 3D
seismic and will get three additional leadin
winches on deck and two extra towing
points, adding up to 14 towing points in
all (14 streamers). The additional winches
provide added fl exibility to enable personnel
to easily replace or repair components
during operations, avoiding costs related to
downtime. The SPS code provides added
safety and enables operations worldwide.
The vessel also carries the Clean Design
Certifi cate.
Ulstein reports that, according to feedback
the company has received on the 15 vessels
in operation with the X-BOW® design, the
bow performs very well. During seismic
work, smooth acceleration is important to
achieving more stable pulling power, which
is crucial to exerting a more even load on
New Ships – Ship&Off shore weekly
NO 5 INSIDE REPORT
31 JANUARY
2011 The French government will seek bidders soon to build the country’s fi rst major offshore windpower
farms, a project requiring total investment of 10 billion euros, President Nicolas Sarkozy
said. | The tenders will be issued in the second quarter of 2011 for power-generation projects to
supply 3,000 megawatts of electricity, Sarkozy said. “This new sector will represent 10,000 jobs,”
Sarkozy said. The government hopes the tenders will come from French companies, he told workers
as he visited a shipyard. The projects represent the fi rst half of the 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind
energy that France plans to have in place by 2020. The president said the government will take time
to create the offshore wind-power industry. Wind turbines are planned for fi ve sites off the country’s
Atlantic coastline. The government will announce the winning bids by the beginning of 2012,
Sarkozy said. Paris-based EDF Energies Nouvelles and Alstom signed an agreement this month to
develop sea-based wind projects in preparation to bid to take part in the government programme.
Under the agreement, Alstom, based in the French town of Levallois- Perret, would supply the sites
with 6-megawatt turbines, the company said.
Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras has denied a report it is seeking to reduce
use of Brazilian shipyards and Brazilian equipment because prices are not competitive. | An
energy ministry offi cial also denied that Petrobras had approached the government about the matter.
The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said delays and high prices had led the oil company to consider
reducing orders from Brazilian yards. “The story is completely false. Petrobras is trying to increase
the local content of its purchases,” a Petrobras spokesman said. The company is seeking to build
billions of dollars of deepwater drilling rigs and offshore platforms in Brazilian shipyards as part of
a plan to channel oil revenue into economic development and avoid the imbalances suffered by oilexporting
nations such as Venezuela and Nigeria. Critics say this will increase the cost of developing
the offshore reserves, cut Petrobras’ profi ts and slow the overall development of Brazil’s oil sector.
Petrobras offi cials say development of the vast offshore oil reserves in a region known as the subsalt
will depend on how fast local industry can expand production of the offshore equipment. Folha
said Petrobras was seeking to cut local content requirements to 35 percent from 65 percent. It said
Petrobras offi cials had asked the government to modify the so-called nationalization targets - the
minimum share of local content for Petrobras supplies. “All of the meetings we have had about this
issue have focused on increasing local content, and none of them have been about decreasing it,”
said Mr Marco Antonio Almeida, Brazil’s oil and gas secretary for the Mining and Energy Ministry.
The company plans to spend US$224 billion into 2014 to develop massive deepsea oil fi nds. Timely
supply of equipment will be key to its efforts to nearly double oil production in Brazil by 2020.
Drydocks World, the shipyard subsidiary of debt-troubled group Dubai World has agreed a new
US$200 million loan. | The shipbuilding arm of Dubai World said last year it was in talks with banks
to restructure US$1.7 billion in debt due for payment in November 2011. Dubai World, the Gulf
emirate’s fl agship conglomerate which has restructured US$25 billion in debt, has said Drydocks
World was not included in its restructuring as the ship and rig builder had suffi cient fi nancial capacity
to service its own debt. Drydocks World is likely to complete its debt talks in coming months. “This
(loan) facility is an important demonstration of the ongoing support for Drydocks World from our
key banks,” Dubai World chairman Mr Khamis Juma Buamim said in a statement. “It will enable
the company to continue to provide high quality services to its customers from its yards in Dubai,
Singapore and Indonesia.” Drydocks signed a US$2.2 billion loan in October 2008, involving 15
lenders.
The Croatian government said a purchase bid for one of its major shipyards 3. Maj had been
abandoned, a step which might slow down the pace of European Union entry talks, in which
the cutting of subsidies to ailing yards is a key demand. | The government said it would open
a new tender to sell the 3. Maj shipyard in the Adriatic port of Rijeka after Crown Investments of
Germany, a subsidiary of Austria’s A-Tec Industries, withdrew from the buying process. “A-Tec
informed us that it had not resolved its fi nancial problems and could not assess when it could do
so. Hence, we proposed a renewed privatisation round which the European Commission accepted,”
Seismic vessel for Polarcus
seismic equipment. It is also said to provide
calmer and safer working conditions for the
crew.
The vessels will be delivered in 2012, one
in March and the other in June.
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