Pioneering Spirit Explained

Pioneering Spirit (formerly Pieter Schelte) is a catamaran crane vessel owned by the Switzerland-based Allseas Group designed for the single-lift installation and removal of large oil and gas platforms and the installation of record-weight pipelines.[1] The 382adj=midNaNadj=mid, 124adj=midNaNadj=mid vessel is the world's largest vessel by gross tonnage, the heaviest vehicle ever made and since September 2021 also the largest floating sheerleg in the world.[2] It was built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean) in 2013 at a cost of €2.6 billion. It commenced offshore operations in August 2016.

Development

The initial concept, by Allseas technical director W.P. Kaldenbach, was of a vessel capable of lifting entire platforms, and in 1987 Allseas declared its intention to build it.[3] The initial idea featured two rigidly connected, self-propelled supertankers, with a large slot at the bows enabling it to install platform topsides in one piece. Early designs featured a flotation and ballasting system and active motion compensation system to facilitate a controlled transfer of a topsides' weight from the vessel to a platform substructure. Allseas developed the original idea to include steel jacket installation, jackets and topsides removal and rigid pipelay capabilities.[4] The emphasis switched from the conversion of two existing tankers to a new-build hull in 2004, though retaining the catamaran concept.[5] The decision was prompted by a lack of suitable vessels to convert, the lower costs associated with a new-build, and the need to house sophisticated equipment – such as a dynamic positioning system – in the hull.

In 2007, twenty years after the idea was first conceived, Allseas announced plans to build the Pieter Schelte, a twin-hulled platform installation / decommissioning and pipelay vessel.[6] Named after the offshore pioneer, the father of Allseas' owner Edward Heerema, the design featured a lifting system at its bows for lifting platform topsides up to 48000t and a lifting system at its stern for lifting steel jackets up to 25000t. The design also included pipelay equipment to handle pipe diameters ranging from 6- at water depths exceeding 4000m (13,000feet).[7]

Construction

Allseas placed orders for machinery, including generators and thrusters, in 2007, and for the high-tensile steel for the lifting systems in 2008.[8] [9] After the global financial crisis weakened funding, the company was forced to postpone the building schedule and as a result delayed the awarding of the hull construction contract.[10] Finnish engineering company Deltamarin performed detail engineering in 2009.[11]

Allseas eventually was able to sign the main construction contract in June 2010 with South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd.[12] Midway through the build, Allseas decided to widen the ship by 6.75m (22.15feet) in order to increase the clearance between the bows and the legs of large platforms.[13] As a result, the overall width increased from 117to, and the slot width from 52to.

Pioneering Spirit departed Daewoo in November 2014 and arrived at the Maasvlakte 2, Port of Rotterdam, for completion and commissioning, on January 8, 2015.[14] After the topside lifting system was installed,[15] she left Rotterdam on 6 August 2016.[16]

The original name caused controversy due to Pieter Schelte Heerema's service in the Waffen-SS during World War II.[17] As a result, in February 2015, Allseas announced that the vessel's name would be changed[18] to Pioneering Spirit.[19]

Upgrades

In July 2019, Allseas announced a plan to upgrade the lift capacity from 48,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes to enable the removal of Statfjord A platform in the North Sea.[20]

In September 2021, a set of sheerlegs with a lifting capacity of 20,000 tonnes was installed on the stern deck of the ship, permitting it to also hoist platform jackets. This also made it the largest floating sheerleg in the world.

Design

Pioneering Spirit is the world's largest vessel, in terms of her gross tonnage (403,342 gt), breadth (123.75m (406feet)), and displacement (1000000t).[1] The maximum 48000t topside lift capacity is achieved by operating as a semi-submersible. For removal of topsides, the vessel straddles the intended payload with the slot formed by the twin bows. The slot measures 122mx59mm (400feetx194feetm) (L×W). After straddling the payload, Pioneering Spirit takes on ballast to lower, and two sets of eight (one set per bow) retractable motion-compensated horizontal lifting beams are extended under the payload. Once the load is secure, the vessel offloads the ballast, rising in the water and partially transferring the load to the beams. In the final stage a fast lift system is used that lifts the payload up to 2.5m (08.2feet) in 15 s.[21] Aside from the ballast lifting system, Pioneering Spirit is equipped with large conventional cranes, including a sheerleg and rotating cranes. Two tilting lift beams for the installation or removal of the steel jackets used for fixed platforms, up to 25000t in weight, will be located at the vessel's stern.[22] The lift beams for the Jacket Lifting System were installed in 2021.[2] A 5000t special purpose crane built by Huisman is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2018. The tub mounted crane will be available for additional lifts for jacket and topsides installation such as pile handling and bridge installation.[23] [24] The first major lifts with the new Huisman crane were performed in August 2020.[25]

When equipped with the Stinger, Pioneering Spirit can be used to lay pipe. Pipe segments are welded together on board the vessel, then are placed on the Stinger, where they roll into the water. The Stinger is curved to guide the pipe to the bottom of the ocean. The Stinger itself weighs 4200t and measures 150m (490feet) long and 65m (213feet) wide.[26] It is attached to the Stinger Transition Frame (STF), which provides an interface between the Stinger and the vessel; the STF is installed in the bow slot when attached to the vessel. The Stinger Transition Frame weighs more than 1600t by itself.[27]

The vessel is equipped with eight, 20-cylinder (20V32/44CR) MAN 11,200 kW diesel generators providing a total installed power of 95 MW, driving 12 Rolls-Royce azimuth thrusters which provide dynamic positioning (DP3) and propulsion. The vessel's maximum speed is 14kn. The accommodation has room for 571 persons in two-berth cabins.

Iron Lady and Bumblebee

Allseas also constructed two barges to assist Pioneering Spirit. If the water depth is not sufficient to allow the vessel to approach the dock, Pioneering Spirit can unload structures to Iron Lady, a 200x (L×W) barge with a shallower draft. Bumblebee was built specifically to store the Stinger and STF when it is not in use.

Projects

Pioneering Spirit performed her first commercial lift, removal of Repsol's 13500t Yme mobile offshore production unit (MOPU) on 22 August 2016.[28] Located in the Yme field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, approximately 100km (100miles) west of Stavanger, the MOPU was a jack-up type platform standing on three, 3.5m (11.5feet) diameter steel legs. The decision to remove the platform was made in 2013, and the contract for the removal of the topsides was subsequently awarded to Allseas. Pioneering Spirit collided with the caisson of the Yme platform during the removal.

On 28 April 2017 Pioneering Spirit performed the single-lift removal of Shell's 24200t Brent Delta topsides.[1] [29] Located in the Brent field, approximately 186km (116miles) off the northeast coast of Shetland, the iconic platform sat on a three-legged gravity-based structure in 140m (460feet) of water. The vessel delivered the topsides to Able UK's Seaton Port yard, Teesside, for disposal.[30]

Pioneering Spirit installed the offshore section of SouthStream Transport B.V's dual 930km (580miles) Turkish Stream pipeline in the Black Sea.[31] The pipeline construction started in May 2017[32] and was completed in November 2018.[33]

Starting from the Russian coast near the town of Anapa, the 930km (580miles), 32inches diameter twin-pipeline will traverse the Black Sea at depths up to 2200m (7,200feet) and emerge onshore in Turkey's Thrace region.[34]

She has installed three out of four platform topsides for phase one of the Johan Sverdrup development in offshore Norway. The drilling platform (DP) topside was installed in June 2018. The other two topsides named P1 and LQ were installed in March 2019. With P1 topside weighing 26,000 tons, this is one of the heaviest single-lift executed offshore to date, after Wheatstone of 36,000 ton and Arkutun Dagi of 42,380 ton, both with the H 851.[35] [36] [37] [38] The vessel is expected to return in 2022 to install P2 topside weighing 27,000 tons for phase two of the Johan Sverdrup development.[39]

It removed Valhall QP topside for Aker BP in June 2019. This structure was an accommodation platform in Valhall field, located in southern part of North Sea about 280 km off the Norwegian coast.[40] Weighing 3800 ton, it is the lightest lift operation performed by the vessel.[41]

In June 2019, Pioneering Spirit also removed the Brent Bravo 25,000-tonne topside located 186 km off the coast of Scotland on the way to Norway. She was also scheduled to remove the remaining two Brent field topsides for Shell, the 15,000 tonne Brent Alpha and 29,500 tonne Brent Charlie.[42]

Future designs

In 2018, Allseas announced its intention to build an even larger version of Pioneering Spirit, named Amazing Grace,[43] scheduled to be delivered in 2022. However, in July 2020, Allseas announced that it would suspend the project indefinitely.[44]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pioneering Spirit . Allseas.com .
  2. Web site: Pioneering Spirit Gets 20,000-Tonne Floating Sheerlegs System. 2022-02-20. The Maritime Executive. en.
  3. Web site: Allseas history . www.allseas.com.
  4. Web site: Catamaran can lift out decks and jackets on single trips . www.offshore-mag.com. August 2000 .
  5. Web site: Pioneering Spirit Heavy Lift Construction Vessel . Ship Technology . 2017-06-08.
  6. Web site: Biggest vessel in the world gets underway . www.allseas.com.
  7. Web site: Pieter Schelte the heavyweight contender for North Sea abandonment program . www.offshore-mag.com. April 2007 .
  8. Web site: Long-lead items for platform installation/decommissioning and pipelay vessel Pieter Schelte ordered . allseas.com.
  9. Web site: High tensile steel for the jacket and topsides lift systems of Pieter Schelte ordered . allseas.com.
  10. Web site: Development of Pieter Schelte . allseas.com.
  11. Web site: Pioneering Spirit pipelay vessel . deltamarin.com.
  12. Web site: Construction contract of Pieter Schelte awarded to Daewoo . allseas.com.
  13. Web site: Mega projects on the horizon for the Pieter Schelte . offshore-engineer.com. 22 May 2013 .
  14. Web site: Biggest ship in the world arrives in Rotterdam . Port of Rotterdam.
  15. Web site: Interview: Edward Heerema – Founder and President, Allseas – Netherlands. 2020-09-16. www.energyboardroom.com. 17 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200917003332/http://www.energyboardroom.com/interviews/interview-edward-heerema-founder-and-president-allseas-netherlands/. deviated.
  16. Web site: Pioneering Spirit departs Rotterdam . allseas.com . Allseas.
  17. Web site: 2018-07-13. How billionaire shipping magnate Edward Heerema punished his €100m scammers. 2020-09-15. Australian Financial Review. en.
  18. Web site: Allseas to change the name of the vessel Pieter Schelte . www.allseas.com.
  19. Web site: New name for Allseas' single-lift vessel . www.allseas.com.
  20. Web site: Lift capacity Pioneering Spirit to be increased. 2020-04-03. Project Cargo Journal. 5 July 2019 . en-US.
  21. Pioneering Spirit in Full Swing . July 2017 . Ivormate Magazine . 21 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322081444/https://www.iv-groep.nl/getmedia/c46a5045-dc6e-41a7-9c9e-357b822141be/Ivormatie-2017-2-Pioneering-Spirit-in-full-swing.pdf.aspx . 22 March 2018 . dead .
  22. Web site: Jacket Lift System Pioneering Spirit . IV-Consult . 21 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322020413/https://www.iv-groep.nl/en-US/Markten/Speciale-constructies-Equipment/Offshore-Onshore-handling/Jacket-Lift-System-Pieter-Schelte . 22 March 2018 . dead .
  23. Web site: New Crane Orders for Huisman . August 2016 . Yellow & Finch . 21 March 2018.
  24. Pioneering Spirit proves strength, stability with record topsides lift . Beckman, Jeremy . 9 November 2016 . Offshore . 21 March 2018.
  25. Pioneering Spirit steps up jacket removal capability . Beckman, Jeremy . September 30, 2021 . Offshore . 2 February 2023.
  26. Web site: Stinger Pioneering Spirit . 2016 . Eiffage Smulders . 21 March 2018.
  27. Web site: HLV Rambiz to lift Stinger Transition Frame (STF) at Flushing from the barge Bumblebee to the quay . 11 April 2016 . Scaldis . 21 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171212031703/http://www.scaldis-smc.com/en-GB/hlv-rambiz-to-lift-stinger-transition-frame-stf-at-flushing-from-the-barge-bumblebee-to-the-quay/38/85/ . 12 December 2017 . dead .
  28. Web site: Pioneering Spirit completes maiden heavy lift project . allseas.com .
  29. Web site: World's largest vessel breaks record. www.skynews.com.
  30. Web site: Shell Brent Delta Photos and Video. www.ableuk.com .
  31. Web site: 2020-03-05. LOC signs off on TurkStream subsea gas lines. 2020-04-03. offshore-mag.com.
  32. Web site: TurkStream. 2021-02-13. gazprom.com.
  33. Web site: 2018-11-19. TurkStream gas pipeline's offshore section completed. 2020-04-03. gazprom.com. en.
  34. Web site: Project. turkstream.info. 2020-04-03.
  35. https://hmc.heerema.com/projects/wheatstone/ Wheatstone
  36. https://www.ale-heavylift.com/knowledge-centre/case-studies/load-out-of-37000t-wheatstone-project-topside-south-korea/ LOAD-OUT OF 37,000T WHEATSTONE PROJECT TOPSIDE, SOUTH KOREA
  37. https://hmc.heerema.com/projects/arkutun-dagi/ Arkutun Dagi
  38. https://www.oedigital.com/news/459780-another-sakhalin-gbs-goes-in 'Another Sakhalin GBS goes in'
  39. Web site: Pioneering Spirit sets new offshore lift record. Project Cargo Journal. en-US. 2020-04-03.
  40. Web site: Pioneering Spirit vessel removes Valhall QP topside. Offshore Energy Today. 14 June 2019 . en-US. 2020-04-06.
  41. Web site: StackPath. www.offshore-mag.com. 14 June 2019 . 2020-04-06.
  42. Web site: Dahm. Alex. 2019-06-24. Allseas lifts 25,000 tonne platform. 2021-02-13. KHL Group. en.
  43. News: Karagiannopoulos. Lefteris. 2018-02-07. Switzerland's Allseas plans world's largest construction vessel. en. Reuters. 2021-02-13.
  44. Web site: Pieffers. Tobias. 2020-07-22. Plans for larger 'Pioneering Spirit' shelved indefinitely. 2021-02-13. projectcargojournal.com.