Norwegian automated offshore handling company Odim has won a 95-million-kroner ($16 million) order to ship heave-compensated cranes to China’s Zhejiang Shipyard.

The cranes are destined for the harder-pulling sub-sea support ships being built by Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group’s Zhejiang yard.

The 150-tonne ABAS cranes are built to handle the extreme weights associated with deepwater operations supported by the Ulstein SX130 vessels. Their heave-compensating action permits equipment handling in rough weather.

The Chinese yard is due to deliver a fourth Ulstein design in October and has already ordered automated launch and recovery systems for remotely operated vehicles.

“The subsea and deepwater market is growing, and we see a big potential in the design and installation market both now and in the longer term,” company VP Jon Olav Kopperstad said in a statement.

ODIM also reported a new Singapore-based Asian regional manager and a new office in Shanghai. An assembly and testing workshop is due to be built at Vung Tau, Vietnam by June 2009.

Tags: ODIM