STX Finland to overhaul Saipem pipelay semi

STX Finland Oy and Saipem S.p.A have signed a contract covering major overhaul and maintenance of the semisubmersible pipelay vessel Castoro Sei. The work on the ship, providing employment for as many as about 1,000 people, will be completed by STX’s Turku shipyard.

The Castoro Sei is a 152 m long and 70.5 m wide semisubmersible pipelay vessel, owned by Italian offshore company Saipem S.p.A. It is currently deployed in laying the pipeline for the Nord Stream project on the Baltic Sea.

The Turku shipyard will carry out an extensive and demanding overhaul of Castoro Sei’s mooring and pipelaying systems. Some other maintenance activities and repairs will also be done during the continuous four-week project, scheduled for May-June.

“The overhaul of Castoro Sei is a very welcome project for STX Finland. The project is very challenging in terms of both amount of work and scheduling. The safety and quality requirements for the project are extremely high,” Jari Anttila, Director of STX Turku shipyard, points out. “We are also satisfied that we were able to flexibly and in good collaborative spirit agree on working hour arrangements with the staff for such a time-sensitive project.”

April 21, 2011