Pieter Schelte Renamed to ‘Pioneering Spirit’

Swiss-based offshore company Allseas has announced that the largest vessel in the world ‘Pieter Schelte’ is being re-named to ‘Pioneering Spirit’.

The company already announced on Friday, it has made a decision to rename the vessel after fierce criticism.

The name of the vessel reflects what she stands for: a new technological step in platform installation and decommissioning, the company said in a statement.

“It also fits the 30-year tradition of Allseas to pioneer and surpass technical boundaries, as was done over the years introducing pipelay on dynamic positioning and laying pipelines in ever deeperwaters.

This vessel encompasses all innovations that have been developed by Allseas over the last 30 years,” says Allseas.

There’s been a lot of controversy behind the ‘Pieter Schelte’ name. The vessel was named after the Allseas owner Edward Heerema’s father who served as a Waffen SS officer. Edward Heerema has until last Friday refused to rename the ship but the company after all agreed to change the name, saying: “It has never been an intention to offend anyone.”

The 382 meter long giant is scheduled for Shell’s Brent Delta platform decommissioning.

Subsea World News Staff