The ship ‘Solitaire’ calls at Cartagena as a base port for the repair of the ‘offshore’ platform

The pipe-laying ship ‘Solitaire’, one of the largest in the world, has arrived at the Port of Cartagena and will remain for six months in Escombreras for its readiness, according to sources from the port institution in a statement.

The offshore vessel, which docked this Sunday at the Southwest pier, enabled for long-stay ships and oil platforms, will be docked until mid-July. ‘Solitaire’ is in charge of laying underwater pipes, where it has been able to carry out lines at a depth of more than 2,775 m. It has a length of 299m, a beam of 40.6m and 94,855 GTs, and if the Stinger is taken into account, it reaches 400m in total.

From the Port Authority of Cartagena (APC), its president, Yolanda Muñoz, stressed that this makes the regional port “consolidate us as a base port in the Mediterranean for the training, repair and maintenance of offshore platforms.” Muñoz recalled that “our strategic positioning in the Mediterranean axis and the quality of our services have been key to establishing ourselves as a safe and efficient logistics hub for the offshore industry, hand in hand with the Cartagena City Council and the Autonomous Community” .

In addition, the president of the APC added that “the ability to provide qualified labor by being in the Valle de Escombreras, the main industrial hub in Spain, and having specialists from the Naval industry, such as Navantia, and specialized training with the UPCT and the degrees of FP».

To this end, Yolanda Muñoz stressed that “we are preparing our facilities to boost this 21st century traffic with the future Barlomar Terminal, which will be one of the most modern and sustainable terminals in the world, with a surface area of ​​58 hectares and a docking area for the offshore industry of 2 hectares that meets all the needs of a growing sector that generates stable and quality employment, wealth and prosperity and that has come to Cartagena to stay.

Since the end of 2018, the Port of Cartagena has positioned itself as a safe port for ‘off-shore’ ships and 8 ships of this type have remained docked for prolonged stays, for refurbishment and maintenance work, in stays lasting from three months up to eight.

These vessels have been Transocean 706, (semi-submersible drilling platform), Castorone (pipe laying vessel), Drillship Atwood Advantage, Saipem 700, the second largest semi-submersible crane vessel in the world; the Stena Icemax platform; the Brigth Spark ship and the last one, the Scarabeo 9, in 2021.