Dockwise Wins ‘Cat J’ Transport Contracts

Heavy lift owner/operator Dockwise, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Netherlands-based Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis), has ended the first month of 2014 up $65 million in contracts.
Dockwise says the largest contract came from Statoil Petroleum for the transportation of two new Cat-J jack-up rigs currently under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries. The two rigs, which will be deployed to the Norwegian Continental Shelf, will be the largest and heaviest jack-up rigs ever to be transported on a heavy marine transport vessel.
Dockwise says it will deploy two of its largest Heavy Marine Transport vessels, the Blue Marlin and her sister vessel the new White Marlin, which will be put into service later this year. The two rigs are scheduled to be transported to Norway upon completion in the second half 2016 and the second half 2017.
The new Cat-J rigs will be deployed to the on Gullfaks and Oseberg fields off Norway, where they will be able to operate at water depths from 70 to 150 meters and drill wells down to 10,000 meters. The Cat-J rigs are also tailor-made for operations in harsh environment for both surface- and subsea wells.
Dockwise attributes the contract award to their ability to provide two identical Heavy Marine Transport vessels within the same timeframe, among other factors.