PSA Marine’s Semco Tugs Tow World’s Biggest FPSO

Two of Semco’s newly-built tugs formed part of a four-tug operation that towed the world’s biggest floating, production and storage offloading
(FPSO) vessel, the Kizomba A, from Ulsan, South Korea to offshore Angola, Africa.

The two new tugs, Salvanguard and Salviscount, were joined by two other tugs, Salvaliant and Salvigour, in the three-month long operation. Semco, which is fully owned by PSA Marine, was awarded the towage contract by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for client ExxonMobil, as well as an associated contract to position the giant structure on block 15 of the Kizomba oilfield.

This project was a feather in the cap for the Semco team, which has spent years building up its experience and knowledge of long-haul towage work. In mid-July, Salvanguard and Salviscount were once again involved in another FPSO towing operation. They were engaged by Jurong Shipyard (JSL) to tow the P50, owned by a Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, from Singapore to Rio de Janeiro.

Semco’s experience and the success of the towage and positioning of what was reputedly the world’s biggest FPSO, were undoubtedly deciding factors in the clinching of a second contract in a series of Kizomba projects for ExxonMobil. Over the last few years, Semco has maintained a competitive edge in ocean towage and marine transportation, adding a new generation of towing tugs to its fleet and building upon its niche market in marine services.