Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Limited awarded a contract to MacGregor, which is part of Cargotec, regarding two subsea knuckle boom type cranes which are to serve the purposes of the world’s very first seabed mining vessel. The cranes have been scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2017. The company booked the order into Q1/2015 order intake.
The 227-meter-long subsea mining vessel has a 40-meter-long beam and its design was created by Singapore-based SeaTech Solutions for the Dubai-based owner that is Marine Assets Corporation (MAC). After the vessel is successfully delivered at 2017’s end it will be operating under a long-term charter deal according to which it is to serve the purposes of Canada-based Nautilus Minerals Inc., a seafloor exploration company.
The order placed by the MacGregor company consists of the two above-mentioned knuckle boom cranes along with a 200t active heave-compensation (AHC) subsea crane, which will be capable to carry out various tasks at a maximum depth of 2,500 meters, and a smaller 100t subsea crane.
Mike Johnston, Nautilus Minerals CEO, comments:
“We are glad that we are able to acquire key equipment for our Production Support Vessel from a provider that occupies the top ranks of the business. The cranes in question are an integral part of making sure that we can perform various operations in a safe manner at each and every one of our large working deck areas. We will be reporting all progress regarding this equipment as production nears its beginning in 2018.”
“We are happy that Nautilus Minerals chose us to supply the necessary cranes for this innovative and exciting new ship. Offshore operating demands are changing on a constant basis. That is why we at MacGregor put every effort towards understanding the requirements of our customers and making sure that we are always a few steps ahead of our competition when regarding our ability of offering the right type of hardware for any appointed task, which we are able to support through our global service infrastructure,” comments Vice President Tom Svennevig, Offshore Load Handling, MacGregor.
Source: Cargotec