Intrepid load for Dockwise

May 13 - Dockwise's largest semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Dockwise Vanguard has loaded the Armada Intrepid floating production, storage and offloading platform - the first ever ship-shaped FPSO - in Rotterdam.

The Armada Intrepid FPSO weighs approximately 60,000 tonnes, making it one of the heaviest cargoes ever transported, claimed Boskalis subsidiary Dockwise. With a length of 245 m, it will also be the longest cargo transported on the Dockwise Vanguard to date.

"Transporting this ship-shaped FPSO on board of the Dockwise Vanguard demonstrates there this is a better, faster, more safe and efficient solution to transport FPSOs from one side of the world to another, be it for refitting or newbuilds," said Hans Leerdam, category manager of strategic vessels at the offshore energy division of Boskalis.

Watch a video of the loading here:

Dockwise's parent company Boskalis posted a positive first quarter of 2015, with increased revenues compared with the same period in 2014. However, the company's offshore energy division showed a slight year-on-year decrease in revenue, which Boskalis put down to the acquisition of Fairmount at the end of March 2014.

The company's marine contracting division, which includes Dockwise's long-term heavy marine transport activities, had a good quarter, according to Boskalis, with the transport of the Goliat FPSO and installation of an FPSO in Equatorial Guinea.

Boskalis added that its marine services division, which also includes Fairmount and Dockwise's short-term heavy marine transport activities, had a good quarter "under the circumstances". The level of utilisation at wet towage was under pressure but the utilisation of other equipment, including the floating sheerlegs and Dockwise vessels, was good in the first quarter, said Boskalis.

The company added that these activities are under significant pressure in the North Sea due to deteriorated market conditions, but the utilisation level in Africa and the Middle East was good in the first quarter of 2015. The offshore energy order book fell slightly compared to the end of 2014.

Regarding the offshore energy market, Boskalis concluded: "We can see a difference between the short and the long term. The short term is strongly impacted by the low oil price, which is causing oil majors to postpone investment decisions relating to complex and costly offshore projects. However, in the medium to long term the development of prosperity and economic growth will drive the demand for energy."