Levingston to Start Construction of 320EX Liftboat (UAE)

Levingston Middle East, FZE, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and Gulf Piping Company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, announced today that they have signed a contract to build a Levingston 320EX liftboat with construction to start immediately.

The Levingston 320EX Self-elevating, MOU (Mobile Offshore Unit) will be a world class liftboat with 320 feet (97.5 meters) of legs, an open deck area of 11,000 square feet (1,022 square meters), a net deck load capacity of 750 short tons (680 metric tonnes) and accommodations for 160 personnel including navigation crew. The 320EX vessel will have a liftboat jacking system designed by Levingston and EBI utilizing EBI’s legendary 12-tooth pinion jacking system technology. The 320EX is also outfitted with two leg-encircling cranes designed by Levingston and RAM Cranes with a 250 metric tonne capacity. The 320EX’s thrusters, a Z-Drive azimuth thruster, and a Bow tunnel thruster, will be provided by Rolls Royce. There are three Bergen diesel main generators and one MTU 12 V2000 emergency generator also provided by Rolls Royce on the 320EX.

This world class liftboat is designed to meet the requirements of The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and will have a wide range of capabilities which include well intervention, platform service & maintenance, plug & abandonment, additional accommodations, offshore construction, offshore coiled tubing, wind turbine installation & service, and much more. The 320EX is designed to operate in offshore regions such as in the Arabian Gulf, South East Asia, West Africa, Mexico, and in Central and South America.

Gulf Piping Company (GPC) will carry out the complete Detailed and Fabrication Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication, Mechanical Completion, Pre-Commissioning, Commissioning and Sea Trials until Handing Over of the Liftboat including the Installation and Commissioning of all the Equipment’s Packages and Cranes and its 160 man Accommodation/Living Quarters. GPC will utilize its 750,000 square meters Fabrication, Dry Dock and Heavy Duty Jetties Facilities in Abu Dhabi, the largest Fabrication facilities in the UAE, for the execution of this project.

Fritz Hofbauer, CEO and Managing Director of GPC, stated, “GPC is very pleased signing this contract hoping that this contract will be the beginning of a new successful relationship with Levingston to construct more Liftboats with the Levingston design. Delivery of the 320EX Liftboat will be on the 2nd Quarter 2014. GPC is committed to deliver the Liftboat with the best quality, on time and with no compromise to safety”.

According to Ken Serigne, CEO of EBI, “EBI is pleased to provide the jacking systems for the Levingston 320EX through our continued association with Levingston. The 320EX takes advantage of the EBI GB82 brake holding capabilities for preloading in an innovative Levingston design. We are pleased with our continuing relationship with Levingston for their for new and innovative designs.”

Further, Ronald Sanders, CEO and Chairman of Levingston, stated, “The construction of the 320EX in the United Arab Emirates is the seventh of our 320E Class liftboat. The 320EX will have advanced features not currently seen in liftboats. Advances in these designs has given us the opportunity to deliver leading edge technology to the liftboat industry all over the world.”

In addition to EBI and Ram Crane, The Levingston Corporation has been able to meet the challenging needs of the global market through their cooperation with GL Noble Denton, Jack-up Structures Alliance , Alabama Roll Products, and Rolls Royce.

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Press Release, November 09, 2012