The following video presents Saipem’s future addition to its fleet, the offshore subsea construction vessel Normand Maximus. With Normand Maximus, the Italian contractor aims to combine SURF installation with field development activities in ultra-deep water.
Saipem signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Solstad on March 11th 2014, to build and operate a new build large subsea construction vessel. Solstad also signed a LOI with VARD Group to build this vessel only to confirm both LOI’s as firm contracts in June same year.
According to Solstad, Saipem agreed to charter the vessel for a minimum of 8 years from delivery, scheduled to be 2Q 2016.
The vessel is a VARD 3 19 design, developed by Vard Design in Ålesund. The hull will be built at Vard Tulcea in Romania, while the final outfitting of the vessel, scheduled for late 2015, will take place at Vard Brattvaag in Norway.
The vessel, which will become the largest in the Solstad’s fleet, will have a 550-ton top tension vertical lay-system, enabling the installation of large diameter flexible pipes in ultra-deepwater environments.
In addition, it will be equipped with a 900 ton active heave compensated offshore crane and a 4.000 ton under-deck carousel for storage of flexible pipes, cables and umbilical’s.
The vessel will be about 178 meters long, have a beam of 33 meters, a deck area of more than 2.500 m2 and will be able to accommodate 180 people.