Largest-Ever Huisman Flex-Lay System On Newbuild For Subsea 7
Lifting, drilling and subsea solutions specialist, Huisman, has secured a new contract with Subsea 7 to supply and install a 550t Flex-Lay System – the highest capacity flex-lay system onboard a pipelay vessel – and a 400t Offshore Mast Crane onboard Subsea 7’s latest vessel. Huisman has designed and built pipelay systems for a number of Subsea 7 vessels already. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in 2014. Installation will take place at Huisman in the Netherlands.
The 550t Flex-Lay System will be the highest capacity flex-lay system onboard a pipelay vessel and will be designed and built for the installation of flexible pipelines in water up to 3,000 m deep. The vessel itself will be built by IHC Offshore & Marine. The tower is tiltable to allow connection of flexible risers to rigid pipelines which are retrieved from the seabed. The system’s tensioners are retractable to allow for safe and efficient A&R and PLET installation procedures. They have been designed according to the most stringent requirements and are equipped with a Squeeze Control System which allows for accurate control of squeeze loads, also at low values – important when handling umbilicals.
Heavy Lift Crane Standard
The 400t deepwater crane (up to 3,000 m) is equipped with a deepwater lowering system and active heave compensation to counter-act the vessel’s heaving motion when landing a load on the seabed. These features will make it an efficient tool for the installation of heavy loads required for deepwater subsea production systems. The Huisman Mast Cranes – valued by the industry for over thirty years now – have become a standard in the design and construction of heavy lift cranes. A 5,000t Offshore Mast Crane for Subsea 7 newbuild, the Seven Borealis, has recently been load-tested (picture). A Huisman 600t S-Lay System for the same vessel is currently under construction.
Own Management
Huisman is a globally operating company with extensive experience in the design and manufacturing of heavy construction equipment for world’s leading on- and offshore companies. The equipment, either being stand-alone to highly engineered and integrated systems is designed and manufactured under own management, from concept to installation. The operations are divided between the offices in The Netherlands, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Singapore and the USA and the production facilities in The Netherlands, Czech Republic and China.