PHOTO: Helix Q7000 getting ready for sea trials

Helix Energy Solutions’ new semi-submersible well intervention vessel Q7000 is set to undergo sea trials.

Posting one of the first photos of the vessel online, Helix on Monday said its newest DP3 well intervention vessel would start sea trials in the South China Sea “this week.”

“The Q7000 is an evolution of the Q4000 and Q5000 vessels currently operational in the US Gulf of Mexico. She is designed with harsh environment conditions in mind and will provide a stable platform for a wide variety of tasks including subsea well intervention, field and well decommissioning, installation and recovery of subsea equipment, well testing as well as subsea construction activities,” Helix said.

To remind, the vessel was previously scheduled for delivery in mid-2016, but Helix and Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard then agreed to postpone for December 31, 2017, with option to delay further to December 30, 2018.

The vessel was jointly developed by Sembcorp Marine Technology Pte Ltd, a Research & Development subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, and Helix. It is a purpose-designed platform with capabilities to perform tasks, including conventional and extended top hole drilling, subsea construction, decommissioning well intervention, coiled tubing operations and twin ROV deployment.

Offshore Energy Today Staff