First Ship-Shaped FPSO Loaded onto World’s Largest Semi-Sub

Boskalis subsidiary Dockwise loaded on Friday the first ship-shaped Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) – the Armada Intrepid – onto Dockwise Vanguard, the world’s largest semi-submersible heavy transport vessel in the world, at the Caland canal, Port of Rotterdam.

The Armada Intrepid FPSO weighs approximately 60,000 tonnes (42,000 tonnes plus ballast) making it one of the heaviest cargos ever transported.

With a length of 245 meters, the cargo is the longest transported on the Vanguard to date. Additional expertise from within the Boskalis group is being deployed on this project, including support from SMIT Towage Northwest Europe during the arrival of the Vanguard and during the loading operation.

”Transporting this ship-shaped FPSO on board of the Dockwise Vanguard demonstrates there this is a better, faster, more safe and efficient solution to transport FPSOs from one side of the world to another, be it for refitting or new builds,” said Hans Leerdam, Category Manager Strategic Vessels at the Offshore Energy division of Boskalis.