IHC Merwede Confirms Build New Pipelaying Vessel For Subsea 7
IHC Merwede has recently secured orders for a new pipelaying vessel for Subsea 7, an engineering and components package for the build of a trailing suction hopper dredger by BAE Systems (USA) for Weeks Marine Inc. and a 5,000t capacity carousel-lay system for Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. The orders are valued at EUR 200 million and also include an environmentally friendly deepwater dredger for Zheijang Dredging.
All of these recent orders further reinforce the group’s belief that there will be continued demand for its innovative vessels, advanced equipment and life-cycle support in the future. IHC Merwede’s President Govert Hamers says, “The recent successes in developing our business show that IHC Merwede’s reputation as the technology innovator remains intact. Our customers continue to value the reliability and efficiency of our products and services. With these orders in place, IHC Merwede is already on track to achieve its sales targets for this year.”
Advanced Pipelaying
IHC Merwede’s assignment with Subsea 7 is for the design, engineering and construction of a new advanced pipelaying vessel, which will have an overall length of 146 m, a beam of 30 m and a Class-2 dynamic positioning system. Subsea 7 has selected IHC Merwede due to its reliability and efficiency with four previous orders. This latest vessel will be used to develop deepsea oilfields off the coast of Brazil on behalf of Petrobras.
Landmark
In the USA, IHC Merwede has been successful in securing an agreement for an engineering and components package with BAE Systems. They have been contracted to build a 6,540-cu.m capacity trailing suction hopper dredger for Weeks Marine Inc. IHC Merwede earlier supplied the basic design of the vessel – which will have a length of 109 m and a beam of 24 m – to Weeks Marine, Inc. This important landmark has highlighted IHC Merwede’s ongoing strategy of internationalisation.
Specialist Equipment
Some of IHC Merwede’s business units have also acquired orders for specialist equipment, including a carousel-lay system for Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. The carousel features the IHC Engineering Business advanced hydraulic roller suspension system to increase reliability, reduce life-cycle costs and extend the lifetime of the system. The equipment will be manufactured, assembled and tested in IHC China Support’s components factory in Guangzou.