Wärtsilä to supply new design for state-of-the-art pipe laying vessels operating in Brazil

Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade press release 22 December 2011 at 11:00 UTC+2

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions provider, is to supply the design and propulsors/positioning system for a series of two new flexible pipe laying vessels (PLVs) for advanced operations. The vessels are to be built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in the Republic of Korea. The owner and operator of the vessels is a joint venture formed between France-based energy industry company, Technip and the Brazilian oil & gas industry company, Odebrecht Óleo & Gás (OOG). The vessels will work on a long-term charter in Brazilian waters for Petrobras.

The contract represents a major breakthrough for Wärtsilä Ship Design in Brazil and is further recognition of Wärtsilä’s leading position in ship design with one of the world’s major shipyards. The new VS 4146 PLV design has been tailored to the stringent requirements of both the owners and Petrobras. The vessels, which have a high pipe lay tension capacity of 550 tonnes, are designed to achieve optimal fuel consumption in the design conditions, and to meet the need for efficient flexible pipe laying operations. They will be utilized mainly to install umbilical and flexible flow lines and risers to connect sub-sea wells to floating production units in waters more than 2,500 metres deep.

“The selection of Wärtsilä Ship Design for this important and challenging project reflects our strong global track record in designing state-of-the-art pipe laying vessels,” says Riku-Pekka Hägg, Vice President Ship Design, Wärtsilä Ship Power. “These ships will be a high profile representation of our capabilities in this area for oil and gas companies operating in Brazilian waters.”

DSME, Technip, and OOG are all existing customers of Wärtsilä having earlier ordered equipment and/or design services for numerous new build projects.

Fact box:
Type: VS 4146 PLV (Pipe laying Vessel)
Length: 145.60 m
Breadth moulded: 30 m
Depth moulded: 12.7 m
Link to an image of Pipe laying Vessel

 

For further information, please contact:
Mr Inge Skaar
Director, Project Development and Naval Architecture
Wärtsilä Ship Design Norway AS
Tel: +47 90682105
Inge.skaar@wartsila.com

Ms Mirja-Maija Santala
Media Manager
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel. +358 400 793 827
mirja-maija.santala@wartsila.com

Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers.
In 2010, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with more than 17,500 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com