Offshore staff

ESBJERG, Denmark – SBM Offshore has contracted Blue Water Shipping to provide logistics for materials and equipment to yards in China and Brazil, where conversion of the FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela will take place over the next two years.

The vessel is being converted from a tanker which is 400 m (1,312 ft) long and 70 m (229 ft) wide. Post-conversion, Blue Water claims, this will be the world’s largest FPSO and will operate offshore Brazil.

The project will involve several thousand shipments and involves Blue Water’s offices in Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Singapore, Esbjerg, Rotterdam, Aberdeen, and Houston.

Initially the focus will be in China where the preliminary basic changes will be performed to the tanker. Thereafter, the vessel will sail to SBM’s shipyard in Brazil for the final part of the conversion.

Conversion should be completed in 2014, with an estimated project cost of $4.6 billion.

4/16/2012