H-shackles to connect Usan mooring chain
Kohlswa Gjuteri will supply a total of 54 mooring shackles for Total’s Usan development off Nigeria. The order has been placed by Ramnäs Bruk, a regular user of Kohlswa’s cast-steel products, which is providing mooring chain to the Hyundai yard in Korea where the Usan FPSO is under construction.
This will be a huge production ship, with capacity to produce around 150,000 b/d of oil and to store up to 2 MMbbl. It will be moored in a water depth of around 800 m (2,624 ft).
Kohlswa’s order, valued at around $1.57 million, is due for delivery in April. It consists of 18 units of each of three types of H-shackle, to be manufactured in grade 4 cast steel. Each shackle has an approximate weight of 1.8 metric tons (1.98 tons), giving a total weight of almost 100 metric tons (110 tons), according to CEO Håkan Thoreson. Bureau Veritas is the classification society for the project.
The H-shackle, which has a pin at each end, was developed by Ramnäs to connect separate lengths of chain. Kohlswa’s previous shackle deliveries have included the Vincent and Maari FPSO projects offshore Australia and New Zealand. Last month the company received another order from Ramnäs, this time for 10 shackles – five each of two different types – for Statoil in Norway. Delivery also is scheduled for April.
Kohlswa specializes in cast products, said to offer numerous advantages over forged products. One of the most important is the isotropism – the products are equally strong in all directions. Casting also allows freedom of construction – the ability to incorporate a large degree of irregularity in the shape of products.
The company also supplies other mooring system products. It currently is working on an order for swivels and ball-sockets for offshore mooring connections supplier Moorlink.
For more information contact Håkan Thoreson, Kohlswa Gjuteri. Tel +46 221 830 02, fax +46 221 830 19,[email protected], www.kohlswagjuteri.se