A pipe-laying ship has damaged a new Australian gas pipeline in an accident off northwest Australia.
Italian contractor Saipem confirmed an incident involving its 102,000-gt Castorone (built 2012) at Woodside Energy’s Scarborough project on Tuesday morning.
WA Today reported that the vessel ripped a gaping hole in the pipe.
A source told the newspaper that the ship lost control of the pipe it was installing, leading to the evacuation of workers.
Saipem said the accident happened during normal pipe-laying operations.
“The incident did not cause injuries to personnel and localised damage to the trunkline was sustained which will be remediated. Castorone vessel did not sustain any major damages,” it added.
“The health and safety of our personnel, of the environment and our assets is a top priority for Saipem.”
TradeWinds’ sister publication Upstream said Saipem’s work involves the coating, transportation and installation of the trunkline at a maximum water depth of 1,400 metres.
This includes fabrication and installation of the line structures and of the pipeline end termination in a 950-metre water depth.
Gas from Scarborough will be exploited through new offshore facilities connected by the 430-km line, which has a 36-inch diameter.
Woodside awarded the Castorone a contract to carry out most of the work early in 2022.
The Maritime Union of Australia said the “pipeline has now buckled and been flooded”, and the ship would have to return to the port of Broome.
