Huisman to build 4,000-tonner for Heerema

Dutch lifting, drilling and subsea firm, Heerema Offshore Services and designer, transporter and installer, Huisman , have signed a letter of intent for the delivery of all mission equipment onboard Heerema’s new deep water construction vessel.

Huisman will design, construct and install a 4,000t offshore mast crane and a pipeway tower for both J-lay and Reel-lay operations in ‘ultra deep water’.

The heavy lift crane will have a revolving lift capacity of 4,000t; the mast crane design was selected for this vessel due to the small construction weight and footprint of the crane. The crane is set for construction at the Huisman site in China, and installed onboard the vessel at the DSME yard in 2012.

Designed for J-lay and Reel-lay operations, the J-lay tower will be installed over a monopool, while the Reel-lay tower features two pipe tensioners of 400t capacity each. The pipe is spooled on reels which can be lifted on board offshore by the vessel’s own crane.

This concept has been identified as a novelty in rigid pipelaying on a big scale; it allows for onshore spooling of reels while offshore pipelaying continues, thus eliminating the need for a large spool base. The reels can also be removed to free up deck space while operating in J-lay or crane barge mode.

Other equipment set for delivery from Huisman includes moveable pipe equipment will be constructed and installed at Huisman Schiedam, where the vessel will arrive in December 2012.

This new venture for Huisman and Heerema is a result of a long-lasting relationship which began with the delivery of the J-lay system onboard the Balder in 2002.

Equipment is set for investiture in 2012/2013, at the DSME yard in South Korea and the Huisman quay in Schiedam, The Netherlands.