LNG

Seatrium of Singapore, a leader in LNG project and ship conversions as well as platforms for conventional oil and gas ventures, was awarded a contract by Shell Offshore to construct and integrate the hull, topsides and living quarters of the Sparta semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) to be deployed in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Seatrium’s Shell contract includes the installation of Shell-furnished equipment and follows a letter of intent signed by both parties in August 2023.

The Sparta FPU will be situated in the Garden Banks area of the US Gulf of Mexico, about 275 kilometres (171 miles) off the coast of Louisiana.

Seatrium said the platform would feature a single topside bolstered by a four-column, semi-submersible floating hull and would be designed to produce 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

LNG record

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, had previously in November 2023 successfully delivered the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupolis” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

The Singaporean company also in November handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritanian in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based Kosmos Energy.

Analysts note that the combined Seatrium group is becoming better known in marketing terms as a single unit and provider of engineering solutions to the marine, offshore and energy sectors, particularly in assembling topsides safely and efficiently at ground level.

Seatrium said that the two-level topside for Sparta would be integrated and lifted to the hull using Seatrium’s Goliath twin cranes capable of lifting up to 30,000 tonnes.

“We are deeply honoured that Shell has awarded Sparta, the third FPU newbuild, to Seatrium, following the successful deliveries of the Vito and Whale FPUs,” said
William Gu, Executive Vice President and Head of Oil & Gas International at Seatrium.

Affirmation

“It is a strong affirmation of our team’s capabilities and the long-standing partnership between both parties. We are fully committed to executing the project well, including the single lift operation and fabrication of the FPU to meet its 20,000-psi design for use in harsh weather conditions, and delivering the unit to Shell safely and efficiently,” Gu explained.

Seatrium added that the Sparta FPU was conceived as a replicable project between Shell and Seatrium to leverage the group’s topsides single lift integration methodology, following the Vito and Whale newbuilds.

“With an extensive experience in complex offshore projects, Seatrium is well-positioned and equipped with cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) services for fixed and floating production platforms and subsea developments,” the company stated.

Seatrium Limited of Singapore, formerly Sembcorp Marine Ltd and the Dutch family-owned dredging and shipping company Van Oord, marked the successful completion and delivery of the “Vox Alexia”, Van Oord's third dual-fuel LNG-powered Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD), during a sailaway event in the Asian city state.

The delivery of the “Vox Alexia”, the final unit of a series of three dual-fuel LNG-powered dredgers, adds to the earlier completions of the first and second newbuilds “Vox Ariane” and “Vox Apolonia” delivered in April and December 2022 respectively.

Both sister vessels are currently in service and contributing to Van Oord’s cleaner fleet operations.

Seatrium said that following delivery, the “Vox Alexia’ would set off from Singapore for further preparatory trials by the customer prior to being put into service later in 2023.

“Leveraging the experience of constructing two earlier units, and an integrated Seatrium-Van Oord team approach, the project was completed with good safety performance as well as stringent quality and performance standards,” said a statement from Seatrium and Van Oord.

Merger

Seatrium underwent a corporate transformation to a new brand and with its name changed from Sembcorp Marine Ltd following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine.

Seatrium and Van Oord added that the “Vox Alexia” was built to the requirements of the International Maritime Organization's Tier III regulations and construction was overseen by French maritime classification society Bureau Veritas.

The vessel has a hopper capacity of 10,500 cubic metres and incorporates highly automated marine and dredging systems.

The TSHD is equipped with a suction pipe with submerged e-driven dredge pump, two shore discharge dredge pumps, five bottom doors, a total installed power of 14,500 kW and is able to accommodate 22 persons.

“We are very pleased to now add ‘Vox Alexia’ to our fleet in addition to her sister vessels ‘Vox Ariane’ and ‘Vox Apolonia’, and as such contribute even more to the energy transition and decarbonisation of our fleet,” said Harold WM Linssen, Director of the Ship Management Department at Van Oord.

More projects

“We also look forward to utilising and further developing the established synergy with Seatrium in upcoming projects,” added Linssen.

Tan Leong Peng, Managing Director of the Seatrium subsidiary, Seatrium New Energy Limited, said that the successful delivery of the latest dual-fuelled vessel with LNG capability would contribute to Van Oord’s greener shipping operations.

“We are pleased to deliver ‘Vox Alexia’, the final unit in the series of three highly automated dual-fuel newbuild dredgers,” said Tan.

“All three TSHDs run on cleaner LNG fuel and integrate greener features for enhanced efficiency, improved performance and environmentally sustainable operations,” he stated.

April 3 (LNGJ) - Sembcorp Marine Ltd, the Singapore-based shipbuilding and conversions yard for offshore energy platforms, including for the LNG sector, is proposing to change its name from Sembcorp Marine to Seatrium Limited following the merger with the other main Singapore shipyard operator Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. The proposed change of name is subject to shareholder approval.

   “Seatrium is a combination of two words – ‘sea’ and ‘atrium’,” explained the Singaporean company. “It is a reflection of the business and its aspiration to be a premier global player providing innovative engineering solutions for the offshore, marine and energy industries,” it added.