ABS endorses Seatrium’s new deepwater FPSO design

September 24, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) concept designed by Singapore’s Seatrium has received approval in principle (AiP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

Rendering of Seatrium FLEXHull 1500K-M FPSO design; Source: Seatrium via LinkedIn

Based on a social media post, the FLEXHull 1500K-M FPSO is designed to perform in challenging offshore environments, including deepwater regions like offshore Brazil. Seatrium sees the new design as a step forward in smarter, more adaptable, and more efficient offshore production.

According to the Singaporean player, the unit can carry heavier topside loads (up to 80,000 MT), and its flexible hull design can easily be modified for varying topside load requirements. It is designed for a 25-year lifespan, in line with global standards (IMO, MARPOL, ABS).

Furthermore, the unit is built for deepwater depths up to 2,500 meters, and its expanded tank capacity offers greater storage and flexible mooring systems. It can process 120,000 barrels of oil per day plus 10 million standard cubic meters per day of gas, as well as store over 1.5 million barrels of oil.

Alongside FPSO-related work, Seatrium has had its hands full with another type of floating unit – the floating production unit (FPU) Kasikda. The semi-submersible unit is set to be deployed at BP’s Kaskida field in the Gulf of America. Having won an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the FPU late last year, Seatrium recently hired Gate Energy to handle the unit’s commissioning.