Saipem 7000
Encyclopedia
Saipem 7000 is the world's second largest crane vessel
, after the Thialf
. The crane radius of the Saipem 7000 grants a lifting capability of 14,000 tonnes at 42 meters while the Thialf can lift 14,200 tonnes at 31.2 meters. It is owned by the oil and gas industry contractor Saipem S.p.A.
The huge cost of a vessel of this size would be offset by the cost and time savings made by the oil company as the large integrated decks could be completed, tested and commissioned onshore. Prior to the introduction of the large crane vessels offshore oil platforms were made up of 1000 - 2000 tonne modules which were lifted into place individually by smaller SSCV's or monohull crane vessels and then connected together offshore, tested and then commissioned, this often took over a year. Other savings in the installation of the jackets could also be made.
Two fully revolving cranes with 140-metre-long booms fitted with 4 hooks. Each crane is capable of lifting up to 7,000 tonnes at 40 m lift radius using the main hook. The auxiliary hook capacities are 1st Auxiliary 2,500 tonnes at 75 m and 2nd Auxiliary 900 tonne at 115 m. The whip hook has a capacity of 120 tonnes at 140 m. The 2nd Auxiliary hook can be deployed to a water depth of 450 m.
Each crane was fitted with 15600 hp engines to power the boom and load hoists, 9 tugger lines and the crane slewing system. The cranes use 48 miles (77 km) of wire rope of various diameters.
Ballast system
The S7000 was fitted with two ballast
systems: A conventional pumped system which could transfer up to 24,000 tonnes of water per hour using 4 pumps and a free flooding system. The free flooding system used 2 m diameter valves to open certain compartments to the sea thus trimming or heeling the vessel. This allows the vessel to lift cargoes from barges much faster than if just the crane hoists are used.
Power system
The vessel's main power is provided by eight 12 cylinder 8400 hp
diesel engine
s built by Grandi Motori Trieste a former Fincantieri company. Later Grandi Motori was purchased by the Finnish Wärtsilä
. They provide up to 47,000 kW of electric power at 10,000 V
60 Hz
for propulsion and positioning. Auxiliary power is provided by two 6 cylinder 4200 hp GMT diesel engines. There is also an emergency generator.
Total power that can be supplied is 57000 kW.
Mooring system
The vessel was supplied with 16 anchor lines, 4 at each corner. The lines are made up of 3350 m of 96 mm wire rope, 50 m of 92 mm chain
and a 40-tonne Norshore Mark 3 anchor
. The mooring system can be used in water depths of up to 450 m.
Thrusters
The vessel was fitted with 10 thruster
s—5 on each hull
. They are, per hull:
Dynamic positioning system
The vessel was equipped with a dynamic positioning
system which used either the thrusters or the mooring system or a combination of both, controlled by a number of computers, to hold the vessel in a predefined location.
Platform installation equipment
Accommodation
The accommodation designed for 800 people contains 30 triple cabin
s, 335 double cabins, 35 singles and 5 suites. The accommodation also contains a large galley
and mess
rooms, a hospital, cinema and lounges.
The vessel was built between 1985 and 1987 by Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiana S.p.A. at their Monfalcone yard, Trieste
in north-eastern Italy
. The vessel was built in two halves in a long dry dock
. The halves were then floated out from the dry dock and mated. During the mating operation the halves were supported by temporary pontoons.
The hull mating was complete in early 1987 and the two cranes built by Officine Meccaniche Reggiane under subcontract to American Hoist & Derrick Company (Amhoist) were installed in sections by the Saipem crane vessel Castoro Otto in April of that year. The sea trials, which took two months, started in September, and on 15 December the vessel was handed over to Micoperi.
The cost of the vessel was not released by Micoperi but it was estimated in the technical press as being up to 400 million US dollars
the Brazil
ian state oil company. The project consisted of the installation of 7 platforms in the Campos Basin
. During this project the S7000 was also involved in the fighting of a well fire on the Enchova Platform. The Micoperi 7000 then proceeded to the Gulf of Mexico
where it installed the Jolliet Template for Conoco. In 1989 the Micoperi 7000 arrived in the North Sea
for the first time where it completed several projects in the Norwegian
sector of the North Sea. These were the Gyda Platform for BP
, the Togi Template for Norsk Hydro
and the Veslefrikk platform for Statoil
.
Whilst the vessel remained busy, Micoperi were struggling financially as the low oil price prevalent in the late 1980s curtailed oil company investment. In 1991 Micoperi were forced to sell a number of their major assets including the Micoperi 7000 to another Italian
contractor Saipem
. Saipem took over the running of the vessel though they retained the vessel crew and the shorebased engineering support. Saipem renamed the vessel the Saipem 7000.
The vessel continued to work, installing oil and gas production platforms, in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, off the Canadian east coast and the west coast of Africa
throughout the nineties. It was also involved in the removal of one platform, the Esso
Odin. During the late nineties Saipem planned an upgrade to the vessels DP system and installation of a J-Lay system.
The power system was upgraded to provide up to 70,000 kW using 12 diesel
generators
. To improve the vessel's resilience the generators are distributed between four separate engine rooms.
Two 5,500 kW retractable azimuthing thrusters were added, one below the forward part of each hull. The DP system control computers were also replaced.
The hull, deck and deck structures were modified to accept the Gusto designed J-lay tower and its support equipment. The J-lay tower can lay pipe from 4" to 32" diameter with a tension of up to 525 tonnes (5.15 MN) using the tensioners and up to 2,000 tonnes (20 MN) when using friction clamps. The deck can used to store up to 10,000 tonnes of pipe.
To allow space for the increased equipment some items from the original specification were removed, including 2 anchor winches from the bow, all the moon pools, and the boilers used to provide steam for the steam hammers.
, Ormen Lange and Medgaz,but its main work continues to be heavy lift in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This includes both platform installation and removal and the addition of modules to existing platforms.
In July 2010, the Saipem 7000 broke another world record by lifting the new BP Valhall Production topside of approximately 11,600 tonnes on Dynamic Positioning
. The previous world record set at Sabratha was performed on the vessel's anchoring system.
. A local record for the Gulf of Mexico
(Mexican area) was set with the 10,473 tons of the PB-KU-A2 deck.
The Saipem 7000 laid the 24" pipeline for the Blue Stream project between Russia
and Turkey
up to the record depth of 2,150 meters in the Black Sea
. This was broken at the end of 2005 by the Balder
which laid a pipeline in 2,200 meters of water.
Crane vessel
A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. Conventional monohulls are used, but the largest crane vessels are often catamaran or semi-submersible types as they have increased...
, after the Thialf
SSCV Thialf
SSCV Thialf is a semi-submersible crane vessel operated by Heerema Marine Contractors, the largest crane vessel in the world.-History:SSCV Thialf was constructed in 1985 as DB-102 for McDermott by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd...
. The crane radius of the Saipem 7000 grants a lifting capability of 14,000 tonnes at 42 meters while the Thialf can lift 14,200 tonnes at 31.2 meters. It is owned by the oil and gas industry contractor Saipem S.p.A.
Saipem
Saipem S.p.A. is an Italian oil and gas industry contractor. It is a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni, which owns approximately 43% of Saipem's shares. Saipem has contracted for designing and constructing several pipelines, including Blue Stream, Greenstream, Nord Stream and South...
Concept
The Saipem 7000, originally named the Micoperi 7000, was conceived in the mid 1980s by its original owners Micoperi as a multipurpose offshore oil platform installation vessel that would be able to install very large oil production platform decks (known as integrated decks) as well as the decks' supporting structures (known as jackets) using its two very large fully revolving cranes. It would also be able to support the offshore completion of the platform by providing hotel and workshop facilities for large construction crews. Saturation Diving facilities would support subsea connection work. The vessels size and semi-submersible form would allow it to operate in worse weather conditions than smaller and conventionally shaped vessels.The huge cost of a vessel of this size would be offset by the cost and time savings made by the oil company as the large integrated decks could be completed, tested and commissioned onshore. Prior to the introduction of the large crane vessels offshore oil platforms were made up of 1000 - 2000 tonne modules which were lifted into place individually by smaller SSCV's or monohull crane vessels and then connected together offshore, tested and then commissioned, this often took over a year. Other savings in the installation of the jackets could also be made.
Original specification
Heavy liftTwo fully revolving cranes with 140-metre-long booms fitted with 4 hooks. Each crane is capable of lifting up to 7,000 tonnes at 40 m lift radius using the main hook. The auxiliary hook capacities are 1st Auxiliary 2,500 tonnes at 75 m and 2nd Auxiliary 900 tonne at 115 m. The whip hook has a capacity of 120 tonnes at 140 m. The 2nd Auxiliary hook can be deployed to a water depth of 450 m.
Each crane was fitted with 15600 hp engines to power the boom and load hoists, 9 tugger lines and the crane slewing system. The cranes use 48 miles (77 km) of wire rope of various diameters.
Ballast system
The S7000 was fitted with two ballast
Ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water.-History:The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or argonaut octopus, and the concept has been invented and reinvented many times by...
systems: A conventional pumped system which could transfer up to 24,000 tonnes of water per hour using 4 pumps and a free flooding system. The free flooding system used 2 m diameter valves to open certain compartments to the sea thus trimming or heeling the vessel. This allows the vessel to lift cargoes from barges much faster than if just the crane hoists are used.
Power system
The vessel's main power is provided by eight 12 cylinder 8400 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s built by Grandi Motori Trieste a former Fincantieri company. Later Grandi Motori was purchased by the Finnish Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...
. They provide up to 47,000 kW of electric power at 10,000 V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
60 Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
for propulsion and positioning. Auxiliary power is provided by two 6 cylinder 4200 hp GMT diesel engines. There is also an emergency generator.
Total power that can be supplied is 57000 kW.
Mooring system
The vessel was supplied with 16 anchor lines, 4 at each corner. The lines are made up of 3350 m of 96 mm wire rope, 50 m of 92 mm chain
Chain
A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
and a 40-tonne Norshore Mark 3 anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
. The mooring system can be used in water depths of up to 450 m.
Thrusters
The vessel was fitted with 10 thruster
Azimuth thruster
An azimuth thruster is a configuration of ship propellers placed in pods that can be rotated in any horizontal direction, making a rudder unnecessary...
s—5 on each hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
. They are, per hull:
- 1 No. 2,500 kW bow thrusters in athwartship tunnels
- 2 No. 3,500 kW azimuthing retractable thrusters under the hull
- 2 No. 4,500 kW azimuthing thrusters at the stern—these are used when transiting
Dynamic positioning system
The vessel was equipped with a dynamic positioning
Dynamic positioning
Dynamic positioning is a computer controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters...
system which used either the thrusters or the mooring system or a combination of both, controlled by a number of computers, to hold the vessel in a predefined location.
Platform installation equipment
- Two MenckMenckMenck & Hambrock was a Hamburg-based German steam and diesel shovel builder.-Beginnings:The company was founded in 1868 by Johannes Menck and Diedrich Hambrock to build boilers and steam engines. Their first excavator was constructed in 1888. Even before the First World War, Menck was a world-class...
MHU 3000 hydraulic hammers—the largest in the world - Two Menck MHU 1000 hydraulic hammers
- Various Menck steam hammerSteam hammerA steam hammer is a power-driven hammer used to shape forgings. It consists of a hammer-like piston located within a cylinder. The hammer is raised by the pressure of steam injected into the lower part of a cylinder and falls down with a force by removing the steam. Usually, the hammer is made to...
s and their associated boilers - Sixteen 35 cm diameter 60 m long cable laid slings
- A containerized 14-man saturation divingSaturation divingSaturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness when they work at great depth for long periods of time....
system which can be moved to any of the vessels three moon poolMoon poolA moon pool is a feature of marine drilling platforms, drillships and diving support vessels, some marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and underwater habitats, in which it is also known as a wet porch...
s
Accommodation
The accommodation designed for 800 people contains 30 triple cabin
Cabin (ship)
A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a "deckhouse."-Sailing ships:...
s, 335 double cabins, 35 singles and 5 suites. The accommodation also contains a large galley
Galley (kitchen)
The galley is the compartment of a ship, train or aircraft where food is cooked and prepared. It can also refer to a land based kitchen on a naval base or a particular formed household kitchen.-Ship's kitchen:...
and mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
rooms, a hospital, cinema and lounges.
Construction
The vessel was designed by Gusto Engineering during 1984.The vessel was built between 1985 and 1987 by Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiana S.p.A. at their Monfalcone yard, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
in north-eastern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The vessel was built in two halves in a long dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
. The halves were then floated out from the dry dock and mated. During the mating operation the halves were supported by temporary pontoons.
The hull mating was complete in early 1987 and the two cranes built by Officine Meccaniche Reggiane under subcontract to American Hoist & Derrick Company (Amhoist) were installed in sections by the Saipem crane vessel Castoro Otto in April of that year. The sea trials, which took two months, started in September, and on 15 December the vessel was handed over to Micoperi.
The cost of the vessel was not released by Micoperi but it was estimated in the technical press as being up to 400 million US dollars
Early projects
The vessel's first work was for PetrobrasPetrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...
the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian state oil company. The project consisted of the installation of 7 platforms in the Campos Basin
Campos Basin
Campos Basin is a petroleum rich area located offshore of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has a total area of 100,000 square kilometres, with 40 fields discovered and operated by Petrobras....
. During this project the S7000 was also involved in the fighting of a well fire on the Enchova Platform. The Micoperi 7000 then proceeded to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
where it installed the Jolliet Template for Conoco. In 1989 the Micoperi 7000 arrived in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
for the first time where it completed several projects in the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
sector of the North Sea. These were the Gyda Platform for BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, the Togi Template for Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
and the Veslefrikk platform for Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
.
Whilst the vessel remained busy, Micoperi were struggling financially as the low oil price prevalent in the late 1980s curtailed oil company investment. In 1991 Micoperi were forced to sell a number of their major assets including the Micoperi 7000 to another Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
contractor Saipem
Saipem
Saipem S.p.A. is an Italian oil and gas industry contractor. It is a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni, which owns approximately 43% of Saipem's shares. Saipem has contracted for designing and constructing several pipelines, including Blue Stream, Greenstream, Nord Stream and South...
. Saipem took over the running of the vessel though they retained the vessel crew and the shorebased engineering support. Saipem renamed the vessel the Saipem 7000.
The vessel continued to work, installing oil and gas production platforms, in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, off the Canadian east coast and the west coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
throughout the nineties. It was also involved in the removal of one platform, the Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
Odin. During the late nineties Saipem planned an upgrade to the vessels DP system and installation of a J-Lay system.
1999 vessel re-fit
During the winter of 1999-2000 the Saipem 7000 underwent a refit to enhance its positioning and power systems and add a J-lay system.The power system was upgraded to provide up to 70,000 kW using 12 diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
generators
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
. To improve the vessel's resilience the generators are distributed between four separate engine rooms.
Two 5,500 kW retractable azimuthing thrusters were added, one below the forward part of each hull. The DP system control computers were also replaced.
The hull, deck and deck structures were modified to accept the Gusto designed J-lay tower and its support equipment. The J-lay tower can lay pipe from 4" to 32" diameter with a tension of up to 525 tonnes (5.15 MN) using the tensioners and up to 2,000 tonnes (20 MN) when using friction clamps. The deck can used to store up to 10,000 tonnes of pipe.
To allow space for the increased equipment some items from the original specification were removed, including 2 anchor winches from the bow, all the moon pools, and the boilers used to provide steam for the steam hammers.
Recent work
The Saipem 7000 has completed 4 J-Lay pipe projects Diana, Blue StreamBlue Stream
Blue Stream is a major trans-Black Sea gas pipeline that carries natural gas from Russia into Turkey. The pipeline has been constructed by the Blue Stream Pipeline B.V., the Netherlands based joint venture of Russian Gazprom and Italian Eni. The Blue Stream Pipeline B.V...
, Ormen Lange and Medgaz,but its main work continues to be heavy lift in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This includes both platform installation and removal and the addition of modules to existing platforms.
In July 2010, the Saipem 7000 broke another world record by lifting the new BP Valhall Production topside of approximately 11,600 tonnes on Dynamic Positioning
Dynamic positioning
Dynamic positioning is a computer controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters...
. The previous world record set at Sabratha was performed on the vessel's anchoring system.
Lifting and pipelaying records
The Saipem 7000 set the world offshore lifting record of 12,150 tons for the Sabratha deck in the Mediterranean SeaMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. A local record for the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
(Mexican area) was set with the 10,473 tons of the PB-KU-A2 deck.
The Saipem 7000 laid the 24" pipeline for the Blue Stream project between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
up to the record depth of 2,150 meters in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. This was broken at the end of 2005 by the Balder
DCV Balder
DCV Balder is a Deepwater Construction Vessel operated by Heerema Marine Contractors.-History:The Balder was constructed in 1978 as semi-submersible crane vessel by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.. Balder and sister vessel, Hermod were the world's first semi-submersible crane vessels...
which laid a pipeline in 2,200 meters of water.