A vessel specifically built for installing and removing topsides and jackets of large offshore oil and gas platforms in one lift – and now considered the largest ship in the world because of its extreme measurements of 382m by 124m – is to be outfitted at the Port of Rotterdam following completion of the hull and superstructure assembly in South Korea (see SM, Sept 2012).
Owner and designer Allseas said Pieter Schelte will arrive in Rotterdam before the end of this year, when it will receive the 65m long beams of its topsides lift system following their arrival by ship from Italy. The ship has been under construction for several years, with long-lead items such as the power generation equipment, thrusters and DP system having been ordered as long ago as 2007. When built, Pieter Schelte will have a topsides lift capacity of 48,000 tonnes and a pipelay capacity of 2,000 tonnes, making her the world’s largest pipelay vessel.
