Dockwise Shipping B.V delivering BP's 59,500-ton semisubmersible Thunder Horse platform to Corpus Christi, Texas. The unit is the largest semisubmersible PDQ ever built by DSME in South Korea. TheMV Blue Marlin delivered the platform. The contract for the sea transportation production and drilling quarters (PDQ) was let on June 19, 2002.
After a smooth float-on loading operation, theBlue Marlin set sail on July 23 for the 15,813 nautical mi. journey to the Gulf of Mexico, via Cape of Good Hope. After a voyage of approximately eight weeks at an average speed of 11 knots the ship arrived at the Kiewit yard in Corpus Christi, where the unit will be completed. The Thunder Horse PDQ has a length of 155.95 m, a width of 113.88 m, and a total height of 132.10 m.
"With the latest conversion of theBlue Marlin and subsequent delivery of the BP Thunder Horse PDQ we are convinced to have opened up a burgeoning market for transportation of ultra-large and heavy units," said Rob Schoenmaker, general manager commercial affairs Dockwise. "We can now offer oil companies the transportation of fully integrated units to their final destination, eliminating final assembly, hook-up, and commissioning on site. Fully integrated units can now be constructed at any location of choice, regardless of distance to site. The 76,061 ton deadweight Blue Marlin is the only vessel in the world capable of transporting ultra-large structures up to 73,000 tons."
9/23/04
