COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co. has delivered the first of those four subsea support vessels that it is constructing for Maersk Supply Service. The company received the Maersk Installer in Dalian, and will receive the other three between this year and next.
This marks the first time a Chinese shipyard has built a vessel for the Maersk offshore project. The shipyard is a subsidiary of China Cosco Shipping Corp, reported China Daily.
This ship is by far the largest, most expensive and sophisticated vessel Maersk Supply Service has ever ordered or taken delivery of in its 50-year history, according to chief technical officer of Maersk Supply Service, Peter Jacobsen.
The vessel is 137 metres long and 27 metres wide and offers 1,850 square metres of cargo deck. It can carry out module replacement and inspection to facilities at 3,000 metres below the surface as well as subsea construction work, offshore lifting, and maritime fire rescue work.
However, market demand for subsea support vessels remains low owing to the low price of oil, and the general market outlook for the industry is anticipated to remain lacklustre in the long term, noted the shipbuilder's annual report.
According to the report, MSS divested 10 vessels during 2016 and was planning to cut its fleet by an additional 11 vessels within 15 months. In such circumstances, many ship owners postponed their delivery date.
