Prime Marine Energy, a subsidiary of Greek shipping and energy group Prime Marine Greece, said on Friday it successfully completed its first major construction job as a lead hull subcontractor in an FPSO project.
The hull of the 144,800-dwt FPSO Energean Power (built 2020) was completed on schedule at Cosco Zhoushan yard in China. It is currently being towed to Singapore for topsides to be integrated at Sembcorp’s Marine Admiralty Yard, Prime Marine said in a statement on 3 April.
The announcement coincides with a surprise shutdown of economic activity in Singapore earlier on Friday due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is not yet clear if shipyards will be part of the shutdown. Keppel Shipyard, which is at a different location from Sembcorp’s facilities, has emerged as a cluster of new coronavirus cases.
Sources close to the FPSO project, however, believe the new measures will not hinder further work. It will take about a month before the FPSO arrives in Singapore and is ready for additional construction.
“By that time, the measures will be hopefully over,” one official said.
Covid-19 has not proved an obstacle to the project so far. Construction work in China was completed in record time of about 15 months from steel cutting.
“Prime Marine Energy is proud of the successful outcome of this complicated project, which is progressing in a fast-track mode and in spite of all adversities and events, last of which was the Covid-19 epidemic,” the company said in the announcement.
Without Cosco Zhoushan’s “exemplary cooperation and steadfastness in finding solutions to problems, today's sailing of the Energean Power would not have materialized,” the statement added.
Once completed, the FPSO will be employed in the Karish gas project off the coast of Israel on behalf of Energean Oil & Gas, in which Prime Marine chief executive Stathis Topouzoglou is a board member.
The project’s turnkey developer is London-based TechnipFMC.
