Nobu no go to be FPSO

A BW Offshore FPSO

JANUARY 2, 2014 — A 320,000 dwt tanker originally built to be the H. Elephant for Nobu Su’s troubled TMT now looks set for conversion to an FPSO without ever having carried a cargo of crude oil.

BW Offshore has exercised an option to acquire the tanker, now called the Blue Opal, for $83.4 million from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which completed the ship in 2012.

BW Offshore says it has performed detailed engineering studies and inspections of the VLCC since fourth quarter 2012, and is currently evaluating several FPSO projects suitable for the vessel.