Construction on Spliethoff’s new B-Type heavy-lift vessels has begun with a steel cutting ceremony at the Mawei shipyard in Fuzhou, China. The vessels will combine DP2 station-keeping abilities with two 500-tonne heavy-lift cranes, making them suitable for transport as well as offshore installation. 

The newly designed B-Type vessels Brouwersgracht and Bloemgracht combine the intake of a multipurpose vessel with a DP2 station-keeping ability of up to Bft 6, making it ideal for supplying large volumes and heavy cargo directly offshore, says Spliethoff.

The vessels are designed by Conoship and will be able to carry 12,500 tonnes of cargo, have an open-top notation and a total of 5,900 sqm of available deck space. “That is significantly higher than existing offshore supply vessels”, says Spliethoff, clearly signalling the intended use of the vessels.

In order to obtain fast and efficient loading and discharge of pipes both on and offshore, the vessels will also be equipped with a removable, automated, pipe-handling gantry crane.mThe newbuilds also feature an optimized hull for fuel-efficiency and will be equipped with scrubbers and SCR systems to reduce harmful emissions.

According to schedule, the new vessels will be delivered June and July 2022.