Royal IHC launches fifth pipe-laying vessel

The Sapura Rubi is the fifth and last 550-tonne pipe-laying vessel that IHC is building for Sapura Navegação Marítima, a joint venture between SapuraKencana and Seadrill. All five vessels are being completely designed, engineered and built by IHC. Like its sister vessels, the Sapura Diamante, Sapura Topázio, Sapura Ônix and Sapura Jade, the Sapura Rubi is destined for Brazilian waters to develop deep-sea oilfields of up to 2,500m depths for Petrobras.
The 145.9m-long and 29.9m-wide vessel will be equipped with a pipe-laying spread designed and built by IHC, and two below-deck storage carousels, with capacities for 2,500 tonnes and 1,500 tonnes of product, respectively. A vertical (tiltable) lay system with a 550-tonne top tension capacity will be permanently installed for the deployment of a range of flexible products, and the tower orientation allows for maximum deck space. A custom-designed IHC control system integrates each aspect of the pipe-laying spread to ensure excellent levels of performance, safety and reliability, the shipbuilder said.