Solitaire (ship)
 Solitaire, one of the largest pipe-laying ships in the world
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner | Allseas Group |
| Port of registry | |
| Builder | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hiroshima, Japan |
| Yard number | 223 |
| Launched | 17 December 1971[2] |
| Completed | 1972 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 300 m (984 ft) |
| Beam | 40.6 m (133.2 ft)[2] |
| Draught | 17.62 m |
| Depth | 24.00 m |
| Propulsion | 8x Wartsila 6R46B , 51.50 MW |
| Speed | 14.5 kn[2] |
| Crew | 420 |
Solitaire is a large deep-sea pipe laying ship. It was at the time of conversion the world's largest pipe-laying ship at 300 metres (984 ft) long (excluding pipe-laying apparatus)[3] and 96,000 tonnes (94,000 long tons; 106,000 short tons).[4] When fully operational she has a crew of 420,[4] a pipe carrying capacity of 22,000 tonnes and a pipe lay speed of more than 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) a day.[5] The ship is owned by the Allseas Group, a Dutch pipelaying and marine construction firm with their headquarters in Switzerland.[6]
History
[edit]The ship was initially built in 1972 as a bulk carrier and launched as Trentwood by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at their shipyard in Hiroshima, Japan.[2]
In 1992, Allseas acquired Trentwood for conversion into a pipelaying vessel. Allseas awarded the conversion contract to Sembawang Shipyards in Singapore on a lump sum basis; however, the contract was terminated in 1995. The ship was subsequently converted at the Swan Hunter yard on Tyneside, United Kingdom.[7] Solitaire laid her first pipe on Statoil's Europipe project in 1999.[8]
Allseas and Sembcorp reached a settlement for the Solitaire arbitration in 2006.[9]
In 2006, while working on the Atwater Valley and Independence Trail projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Solitaire set new depth records, laying 10-inch pipeline in a water depth of 2,775 metres (9,104 ft) and 24-inch pipeline in a water depth of 2,550 metres (8,370 ft).[10]
Among other ships, Solitaire laid the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in 2019—2020.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Solitaire (IMO: 7129049)". Vessel Tracker. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Search results for "7129049"". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- ^ "Solitaire, one of the largest pipelay vessels in the world". Allseas. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ a b "Killybegs Giant ship boost". Donegal Post. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
- ^ "Solitaire". Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ Palmer, Andrew Clennel (2004). Subsea pipeline engineering. PennWell Books. p. 360. ISBN 978-1-59370-013-3.
- ^ "Major deepwater pipelay vessel starts work in North Sea". www.ogj.com.
- ^ "Solitaire undergoes preparatory re-vamp as GoM developments head deeper". www.offshore-mag.com.
- ^ "SembCorp and Allseas reach full and final settlement for Solitaire arbitration" (PDF). www.allseas.com.
- ^ "World's deepest floating production facility nears completion". www.ogj.com.
- ^ Djursing, Thomas (7 January 2020). "Galleri: 430 arbejdere lægger fremtidens gasrør i Østersøen". Ingeniøren (in Danish).
External links
[edit]- 2min Video on YouTube, from Mighty Ships
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