Sapurakencana 3500

The Sapurakencana 3500 is the flagship vessel of the Sapura Energy fleet; a pipe-lay and heavy-lift ship all in one. I joined the ship and her crew at the Bunga Pakma oil field, 125 miles off the northeast coast of Malaysia where it installed nine kilometres of 24-inch diameter pipe on the seafloor and built an entire offshore platform by lifting an 830-tonne jacket (the legs of the platform) into place, securing it to the seabed and then lifting an 880-tonne topside platform to the jacket. The legs of the platform are secured by driving massive metal piles (cylinders) 295 feet into the seafloor with giant hydraulic hammers the size of a three-storey house. The sound of that hammer still rings in my head and the heat on the 3500’s deck was scorching hot. Intense heat and humidity in August under the Malaysian sun, wearing full PPE everyday was tough. Some of the crew were hospitalized for heat stroke. But a long, tough shoot always makes it that much more satisfying when a mission is finally completed; that feeling you went the full twelve rounds, you’re still standing at the end with the footage to be very proud of and a great story to tell.

Tech Specs

Classification: ABS A1 Offshore Support Vessel (Pipe Lay / Heavy Lift)
Length: 513 ft
Breadth: 147 ft
Draft: 24 ft 2in
Gross Tonnage: 40,845 MT
Main Hook Capacity, tie back: 3500 MT @ 35m radius
Max Speed: 13 kt
Thrusters: 8 nos. (Rolls Royce, motors and drives Siemens)
Stern Thrusters: 2 x 4500 KW
Retractable Thrusters: 5 x 2300 KW
Bow Thruster: 1 x 1500 KW (CPP)
Pipe Laying Lowering: Up to 6,560 ft
Max Deep Water Weight: Up to 400 MT (with A&R winch)