Teekay Offshore swoops on ALPS, orders X-bows

FEBRUARY 21, 2014 — Teekay Offshore Partners L.P., the part of the Teekay empire that owns things like FPSOs and FSOs, is getting into the business of towing them around and installing them. It has agreed to acquire ALP Maritime Services B.V. (ALP), a Netherlands-based provider of long-haul ocean towage and offshore installation services.

As part of the transaction, Teekay Offshore and ALP have ordered four 300 t bollard pull, 89 m x 21 m Ulstein SX-157 towing and anchor handling newbuilds at Niigata Shipbuilding & Repair of Japan. They will be capable of ultra-long distance towing, offshore installation and decommissioning of large floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) units and floating drill rigs.

Teekay Offshore says the fully built-up cost will be “approximately $260 million, which includes the cost of acquiring ALP.”

Teekay Offshore intends to finance the ALP acquisition and initial newbuilding payments through its existing liquidity and expects to secure long-term debt financing for the vessels prior to their deliveries in 2016.

“The strong fundamentals in offshore oil and gas, combined with the large orderbook of floating offshore assets including FPSOs, FLNGs and drill rigs, are expected to result in strong demand for the services of long-haul towing and anchoring handling vessels,” said Teekay Offshore CEO Peter Evensen. “We believe ALP’s operational capabilities and customer relationships in the growing long-haul ocean towage and offshore unit installation segment is a natural complement to Teekay Offshore’s existing offshore project offering, which will provide the partnership with another channel for accretive cash flow growth.”

ALP says that offshore floating productions units are increasing in size and value and that multi‐billion dollar field developments rely on floaters capable of operating on site for well over a decade without returning to a shipyard. The transport of these units from the building yard to site and their subsequent installation to the permanent mooring on site is very important to the success of a project.

There is a need for powerful, course-stable and reliable towing vessels that are in control of the object under any circumstances. The subsequent installation of the units to a field’s mooring and riser‐systems require vessels able to operate safely in close quarters, including lengthy heading control duties. Mooring leg maintenance and replacement operations demand vessels that comply with stringent in‐field DP II requirements.

The market requires a new ultra‐powerful versatile towing, positioning, hook‐up, survey and
maintenance vessel with the ability to offer flexible services throughout the production platform life‐cycle.

The four new Alp Future vessels feature the Ulstein X‐Bow design to provide course stability during long‐distance towing operations and improve ship‐handling in adverse weather conditions. Each will be powered by four MAK 18,000 kW/600 rpm engines.

The vessels will be classed DNV+ 1A1 Offshore Service Vessel+, Anchor handling, Towing, E0, SF, Iceclass 1B, Fifi II, Tmon, Bis, Dynpos-Autr, Naut-OSV(A), Clean design, Comf-V(3), BMW-T, Recyclable

They will be the first ultra‐long distance towing vessels that are designed according to
DP II DNV Dyn‐pos Autr notation. As a result, they will be able to perform lengthy heading control duties in DP Mode and comply with stringent infield DP requirements.

ALP FUTURE
Maximum speed    19.0 knots
Service speed    13.0 knots
DP II    ERN 99, 99, 99, 59

Main dimensions    
Length overall    88.90 m
Length b.p.    83.40 m
Breadth mld    21.00 m
Depth main deck    9.50 m
Design draft    7.00 m
Max operation draft    8.50 m
Deadweight    4,250 tonnes
Cargo deck area    550 m2
Deck load    2,400 tonnes – 10 t/m2 max
Chain locker capacity    506 m3

Towing / Anchor Handling    
Towing winch    ROLLS ROYCE mod. SL400-3T, 1st speed: 402 tonnes @ 0-13 m/min
Brake holding load    675 tonnes on towing drums 1 layer, 675 tonnes on AH drums 1 layer
Drums    3 x 86 m x 2510 m steel wire
Control    Remote controlled from bridge
Cable lifters    2 for 76 m rig chains, 1st speed: 500 tonnes @ 9 m/min (at max 58 bar)
Tow wire    1 x 2000 m x 86 mm on main tow winch; 1 x 2000 m x 86 mm on secondary tow winch; 1 x 2000 m x 86 mm on storage reel
Storage reels    1 x 2 compartments 2630 & 620 m 86 mm wire; 1 x 3 compartments 1115 m 86 mm wire each
Fiber rope storage drum    Dismountable, max capacity 7200 m x dia 203 mm
Stern roller    1 x dimension dia 4000 mm x 5500 mm SWL 650 tonnes
Gog winch    2 x ROLLS ROYCE, 30 tonnes pull at 0-12 m/min
Capstans    2 x Hydraulic, 13.2 tonnes pull at 0-10 m/min
Tugger winches    1 x ROLLS ROYCE, 15 tonnes pull at 0-30 m/min
Tow pins    2 sets of towing pins designed for horizontal locking of wire. SWL 300 tonnes
Pop up pins    Hydraulic raised/lowered vertical towing guide pin sets (pop up). SWL 300 tonnes
Karmforks    2 x 600 tonnes, variable inserts upto 120 mm chain

Tonnage    
Ballast water    2900 m3
Fresh water    300 m3
MGO    340 m3
HFO    3200 m3
    
Main engines    4 x MAK 18,000 kW / 600 rpm
Propellers    2 x CPP 5000 mm in nozzle
Rudders    Flap type
Bow thrusters    2 x tunnel thrusters 1500 kW at 228 rpm
Stern thrusters    2 x tunnel thrusters 1050 kW at 316 rpm
Generators    3 x auxiliary generator sets, generator power, each approx. 940 ekW. 1 emergency generator set, approx. 200 ekW at 1800 rpm. 2 off shaft generators driven from main reduction gear each 150 ekW at 1200

Communication equipment    
    – GMDSS A1 + A2 + A3 + A4
    – 2 x MF/HF 150W DSC radio station
    – 1 x GMDSS power system
    – 2 x GMDSS alarm panel
    – 1 x navtex
    – 1 x manual EPIRB for wheelhouse
    – 1 x automatic EPIRB for wheelhouse roof
    – 2 x radar transponder/AIS transponder
    – 3 x portable GMDSS VHF w/charger & spare battery
    – 2 x satcom-C
    – 1 x simplex VHF DSC
    – 1 x ship security alert system (SSAS)
    – 1 x long range identification tracking (LRIT)
    – 3 x fixed VHF set for bridge, slaves for 2 on aft console
    – 1 x fixed VHF set for engine control room
    – 2 x fixed UHF for engine control room and wheelhouse
    – 3 x portable UHF ATEX w/Helcom kit
    – 6 x portable VHF set
    – 2 x smoke diver kit for portable UHF/VHF
    – 1 x VSAT + FBB backup

Navigation Equipment    
    – 1 x X-band ARPA radar with 8 inch antenna 25 kw, 26 inch wide screen display
    – 1 x S-band ARPA radar with 14 inch antenna 30 kw, 26 inch wide screen display
    – Performance monitor, interswitch on both radars. Chart radar on minimum one radar
    – 1 x 22 inch chart radar slave monitor for aft bridge
    – 1 x ECDIS charting system consisting of: 1 off 26 inch main ECDIS & 1 off 26 inch back-up ECDIS
    – 1 x UPS system for navigation equipment consisting of: 3 off UPS w/bypass function
    – 2 x DGPS for navigation
    – 1 x navigation echo sounder with ice protection transducer tank and slave depth indicator for aft bridge
    – 1 x doppler speed log with transducer valve and slave log indicator for aft bridge
    – 3 x gyro compasses
    – 1 x analog gyro repeater for forward bridge
    – 1 x digital repeater for aft bridge
    – 2 x digital repeater for steering gear room
    – 2 x analog bearing repeaters with 1 off azimuth circle
    – 1 x magnetic compass
    – 1 x automatic identification system (AIS)
    – 1 x voyage data recorder (VDR)
    – 1 x sound reception system (SRS)
    – 1 x bridge central alarm system (BCAS)
    – 1 x bridge watch monitoring system (BWMS)
    – 1 x control panel in conning position forward
    – 1 x electronic unit with interface to gyro, magnetic compass and rudders

Accomodations    
Complement    18 officers & crew
Single cabins for officers & crew    27
Accommodation capacity    35 berths