The Swiss-owned “Pioneering Spirit”, the largest construction vessel ever built, brought the Bosphorus Strait to a halt this week on its way to a major Black Sea pipeline project.
The mammoth vessel is headed for the port of Anapa (Russia) after a three-week journey that began in the Netherlands on May 13. On Wednesday, traffic and ferry lines across the symbolic Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul were suspended to allow the giant to make its way from Europe to Asia.
The Swiss company Allseas, which specialises in pipeline installation and subsea construction, owns the 382 metre-long and 124 metre-wide twin-hulled ship. Built over a three-year period in South Korea, the vessel began operational work in summer 2016 and flies under a Maltese flag.
Not only is it the largest construction vessel ever built, but it is also one of the strongest. At the end of April, according to Allseas, it set a world lifting record with the successful removal of a 24,000-tonne oil platform belonging to Shell UK in the North Sea.
The vessel is headed to assist on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, which will start from Anapa in Russia and cover a 900-kilometre route under the Black Sea to reach Thrace on the Turkish coast. The gas pipelines are also planned to extend as far as southern and southeastern Europe.
Popular Stories
More
Banking & Fintech
Luxury heir claims his CHF11 billion Hermès fortune has vanished
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland – the discreet shipping giant
This content was published on
One of the main factors behind this change is Geneva, which is home to shipping giants like Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), explained Bernard Morard, dean of the faculty of Economic and Social Sciences at Geneva University. “[The city] manages to offer networks that include commodity traders, banks, as well as insurance, shipping and quality control…
This content was published on
For the second year in a row, Switzerland was only outclassed by Hong Kong in the 2017 IMD World Competitiveness YearbookExternal link, released on Wednesday. The ranking of 63 nations is compiled by comparing relative strengths in 261 areas – from the economy to political stability, health, education and the environment. Switzerland gained strong marks…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.