November 25 - Allseas Group has decided to build a second single-lift platform installation and decommissioning vessel to rival its current record-holder Pieter Schelte.
The new vessel, says Allseas, will be able to remove all platform topsides in the North Sea - something which is beyond the capability of Pieter Schelte.
As well as decommissioning, the vessel is also designed for the worldwide installation of very large topsides.
The new vessel will be 160 m wide, with a topside lift capacity of 72,000 tonnes, compared with the 124 m wide Pieter Schelte and its 48,000-tonne lifting capacity.
Allseas says that the new ship will be operational in 2020.
Pieter Schelte began its journey from South Korea to Rotterdam last Monday, November 17 and is set to arrive at the end of 2014. When the vessel is completed at the Dutch gateway, it will become the world's largest crane ship.
