The giant “Castorone” arrives at the port of the Gran Canaria capital

The world's largest vessel for the transportation and laying of underwater pipelines (PLV) for the offshore industry is in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the undisputed leader in this area of the central Atlantic. It is called “Castorone” (IMO 9444194) and flies the flag of the Bahamas.

Built in China and equipped at the Keppel shipyard, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, it entered service in January 2013. Owned by the Italian company ENI/Saipem, it is a 100,000-ton displacement vessel with a total length of 325 m and a beam of 39 m. It is powered by eight engines of 8,400 kW each, maintains a speed of 14 knots, and has accommodation for 702 people.

Navalimpianti Tecnimpianti Group has designed and installed the pipe handling and storage system of the vessel. Engineering assistance to complete the design has been provided by Navalprogetti, a naval engineering firm. The vessel's strength and propulsion tests were conducted at the Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute (KSRI) in St. Petersburg (Russia).

Photo: Nicolás Arocha for puentedemando.com