State of the Art Pipelay Tower Successfully Installed Onboard the AMAZON

15 February 2021

Royal IHC has successfully installed the high-capacity J-lay tower onboard McDermott International’s AMAZON vessel. This was an extremely complex operation which involved several industry partners to ensure the operation was executed safely and successfully.

The physical modifications of the AMAZON have comprised of the removal of the existing pipelay system and the installation of a new J-lay system with a top dynamic capacity of 1,500 tonnes. The tower has now been successfully installed and the loading arm will be installed in the coming weeks. Once complete, the J-lay system will be able to handle every variety of pipe including normal flowlines, export lines, and various pipe-in-pipe configurations.

Andre Merlino, Executive Offshore Director of Royal IHC said: “The tower installation is a significant step towards the Amazon being operationally ready. Integrated with the vessel, this tower will be part of a world-class and operationally efficient lay system. The successful installation is a result of the collaboration between Royal IHC and McDermott and above all, the knowledge, experience and passion of our fantastic team.”

Once the modifications are complete, the AMAZON will be a key enabling asset within the McDermott fleet.


State of the Art Pipelay Tower Successfully Installed Onboard the Amazon. Video by Royal IHC.

Royal IHC press release