Construction ship/pipelayer completed after 10 tough years

At last, a pipelay/construction ship ordered a decade ago by Petrofac – the JSD6000 – has been completed in China for Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry shipyard (ZPMC).

It was in January 2014, Sharjah-based Petrofac ordered the Petrofac JSD 6000 deepwater derrick lay vessel, a customised Ulstein SOC 5000 design developed by Ulstein Design & Solutions in The Netherlands.

The 215m ship’s build was contracted to ZPMC, but Petrofac cancelled the order in October 2015 as the deepwater pipelay/construction market had collapsed and company bosses got cold feet.

The cancellation was disputed by the yard at the time though an accommodation was eventually reached.

The vessel’s design features an NOV main crane with 5,000 tonnes lifting capacity.

But the defining feature of the class is the combination of a 600-tonne Remacut S-Lay system via a central firing line below the main deck, and a 2,000-tonne IHC EB J-Lay system via a moonpool.

Importantly, the marriage of heavy lift and S-Lay capabilities together with J-Lay functionality will enable the ship to serve deepwater and SURF markets to 3,000m water depth as well as shallow-water EPCI projects.

JSD6000 is the third of her class, the other members being Seven Borealis and Aegir.

Under the $190 million deal struck between Petrofac and ZPMC, a 10% interest in a new special purpose vehicle set up to own the vessel once commissioned was also established.

The $190 million total consideration was offset by a net amount of $23 million retained by Petrofac under the prior hull and marine contract with ZPMC. The company also undertook to provide technical support with completion set for 2022.

By the end of 2022, the ship was almost complete and sea trials were run last year. This was followed by a testing mission and pipelay equipment.

In May, it emerged that Italian offshore heavy-lift and construction specialist, Saipem, had signed a five-year with two one-year options bareboat charter contract with ZPMC and that handover would be in June.

An even more complex tale

It has just emerged that Chinese offshore construction company China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), is considering an acquisition of the Tiger 4 drillship to convert to a cable layer.

Apparently, CCCC has opened discussions with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) and China’s offshore asset manager, SinoOcean Offshore Assets Management (SinoOcean), to buy Tiger 4.

The unfinished vessel is in the care of SinoOcean and has been stacked off the coast of Shanghai, China for around 10 years.

In February 2021 it emerged that the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) was looking to dispose of the vessels, that had been abandoned years earlier at the defunct Shanghai Shipyard by Singapore company Opus Offshore which had also gone bust.

Tiger 4 and its three sisters of which just one has been completed (Tiger 1) are listed by SB Shipbrokers EU on its website.

On November 3 it tersely noted: “4 Units of Abandoned Uncompleted Drillships for sale”.

The 174m vessels are described as being capable of operating in water depths to 524m/5,000ft and to be able to drill to 9,144m/30,000ft

The broker states: “The current discounted price: USD198M/per unit only. (The previous contract price is up to USD268M !!!)”

In other words, the price has been knocked down.

The Tigers were developed by the Marine Design & Research Institute of China and refined by Shanghai Shipyard, MARIC with Opus Offshore which had been set up in 2011 to become a global drilling contractor in its own right.

The company’s founders, drilling industry veterans Vern Westerhout and David Smallwood, had wanted to put together a fleet of lean, mid-water drill ships to better service the mid-deepwater market.

Money for the project came from Reignwood Group investment, which took ownership in 2011 according to data held by Pitchbook.

In July 2015, Opus put out a statement saying that Tiger 1 had been delivered, but that it would remain alongside at Shanghai Shipyard until contracted. Construction and commissioning of the other three rigs was said to be ongoing.

According to Baird Offshore, Opus owner Reignwood declined to take delivery and work on the three sister units was halted before construction was completed.

Drowning in debt, Opus was liquidated in 2017.

Shanghai Shipyard also crashed and, in 2021, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, another CSSC yard in Shanghai established an asset operation company to deal with the idle offshore assets at the defunct yard including the four drillships, plus two drilling tender barges about which we have no information.

The tale of the four Tigers is clearly far from over.