Amarinth delivers custom vertical sump pump for FPSO vessel
Amarinth, a specialist in the design, application and manufacture of centrifugal pumps and associated equipment, has secured an order from London Marine Consultants for a custom-built vertical sump pump.
The pump will be mounted on the bow of the floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel Pioneiro de Libra and is IP66 rated to protect against heavy seas washing over it.
London Marine Consultants was awarded the EPC contract to supply an external turret mooring system for the extended well test FPSO, which is a conversion of the Suezmax tanker Navion Norvegia.
On completion of the build at the Jurong Shipyard of Singapore, the vessel is destined for the ultra-deepwater Libra oil prospect field, operated by consortium leader Petrobas and located in the Santos Basin, about 230km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Libra field is estimated to contain recoverable resources of up to 12 billion barrels of oil and is one of the largest deepwater oil accumulations globally.
During the design of the turret, the need for a wash-down sump facility with drains pump was established and with a short lead time of just 14 weeks to provide this before the vessel was due to be moved, London Marine Consultants turned to Amarinth.
Due to much higher seas in the operating region than is usual for where an FPSO might operate, the drain pump in the wash-down sump, which is located in the bow of the vessel, was liable to submersion during heavy seas.
Amarinth worked closely with London Marine Consultants to design a pump that could withstand the demanding conditions, modifying its T-Series vertical sump pump to be fully IP66-rated, which is defined as “dust tight and protected against heavy seas or powerful jets of water”.
The IP66 rating covered the pump, motor, and transmitters and even the control panel, which was also open to the elements.
Level transmitters were installed to automatically start the pump when the sump has filled, pumping the water to the cleaning package before its return to the sea, and to switch off the pump once the sump has been emptied.
