Royal IHC names pipelaying vessel Sapura Jade

Royal IHC has named and launched the pipelaying vessel Sapura Jade in a ceremony at the company’s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel, The Netherlands.

The naming of the fully integrated vessel was performed by Belle de Bruin, Managing Director of the Indofin Group.

Earlier on the same day, the naming ceremony of its sister vessel Sapura Ônix also took place at the same location. It was carried out by Dahlia Abdul Aziz, spouse of Alex Monsen, JV Board Member and VP of New Build/Senior Vice President of Seadrill. The Sapura Jade was ordered by Sapura Navegação Marítima, a joint venture between SapuraKencana and Seadrill. It is the fourth in a series of five fully integrated pipelaying vessels that will be completely designed, engineered and built by IHC. After delivery, the Sapura Jade is, like its sister vessels – the Sapura Diamante, Sapura Topazio and Sapura Ônix – destined to travel to Brazilian waters to develop deep-sea oilfields of up to 2,500 metres on behalf of Petrobras.

The 550t vessel – like the Sapura Ônix – will be equipped with a pipelaying spread designed and built by IHC, and two below-deck storage carousels, with capacities for 2,500t and 1,500t of product respectively. A vertical lay system with a 550t top tension capacity will be permanently installed for the deployment of a range of flexible products, and the tower orientation allows for maximum deck space. A custom-designed IHC control system integrates each aspect of the pipelaying spread to ensure excellent levels of performance, safety and reliability.

“In 2012, we signed a contract with Sapura Navegação Marítima for two pipelaying vessels,” says Arjan Klijnsoon, IHC’s Executive Director Marketing & Sales. “Then in August 2013, we signed another contract for a further three innovative vessels.

“With a total of five ships, Sapura Navegação Marítima has entrusted IHC with an impressive order – and overall project. The construction, launch and delivery of these vessels are on or ahead of schedule, and the performance of the first two working vessels is exceeding expectations. This proves that IHC is a reliable partner for such complex vessels, particularly considering that the other orders are also on target.”