A new derrick lay vessel built and owned by China's Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) has completed the first phase of offshore installation works of an ongoing project in Australian waters.
The Ulstein-designed, 216-metre long JSD6000 has completed the first stage of underwater installation, thus allowing more important components to be accurately lowered to the target depth one by one.
After the vessel was delivered to charterer Saipem in July 2024, it underwent a five-month adaptive upgrade in Singapore and is now capable of 1,500-tonne ultra-deepwater subsea capacity.
The successful operation off Australia verified the vessel's dynamic positioning ability as well as its ability to conduct pipe-laying operations in ultra-deepwater areas.
Because some parts of the vessel's J-lay and S-lay production lines are integrated, the systems have a common prefabrication line as well as a common disposal and recovery system. This allows the vessel to undertake either pipeline laying method without any significant increase in the quantity of the requisite onboard equipment, hence reducing costs.