The video above shows Allseas’ giant, the 382 meters long and 124 meters wide, DP platform installation/decommissioning and pipelay vessel Pioneering Spirit.

In June 2010, the Swiss-based offshore company awarded the contract for building Pioneering Spirit, to the South Korean shipyard Daewoo.

When built, Pioneering Spirit will have a topsides lift capacity of 48,000 t and a jacket lift capacity of 25,000 t.

Its pipelay tension capacity will be 2,000 t, doubling the capacity of Allseas’ Solitaire and thereby surpassing it as the world’s largest pipelay vessel.

As reported earlier, the installation and commissioning of the topsides lift system beams will be completed during the winter of 2015/2016, after which the lifting system will be tested at sea.

The topsides lift was expected to be operational in early 2015, however, according to Allseas spokesperson, the delay is caused by late deliveries of components for the topsides lift system beams, and the fact that the installation and commissioning of the system is more complex than originally anticipated.

Pioneering Spirit is scheduled to begin offshore operations in the first half of 2016, with removal of the Yme topsides in the Norwegian North Sea.