Saipem’s heavy lifting and pipe-laying vessel gearing up for work on €4B Black Sea gas project

June 9, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Italy’s engineering, drilling, and construction services giant Saipem has provided an update on the current location of its multipurpose DP3 vessel for heavy lifting and pipe-laying, which is getting ready for its assignment on a natural gas project in the Romanian part of the Black Sea.

Saipem has revealed that its JSD6000 multipurpose DP3 heavy lifting and pipe-laying vessel is currently in the Port of Genoa, where it is undergoing preparatory activities for the Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea.

The company underlines that the ship, moored at the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard, will carry out technical, maintenance, and upgrading activities on key systems, particularly its pipelay equipment, to ensure full compliance with operational requirements.

JSD6000, which was delivered in June 2024, is described by the Italian giant as one of the most advanced vessels in its class, equipped for both S-Lay and J-Lay operations and capable of operating in deep waters, with a full revolving heavy lifting crane of 5,200 t capacity.

The ship comes with a J-Lay system with 1,500 t laying capability and 2,000 t holding capacity for laying quadruple and triple joints, alongside an S-Lay system of 900 t holding capacity in accidental conditions, featuring a modular stinger operated by a patented handling system.

Once preparation is complete, the vessel will be deployed on the Neptun Deep gas development project in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania, where it is set to play a key role in subsea installation operations. The 215-meter ship will install the subsea infrastructure in the deepwater area, connecting the wells to the production platform.

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OMV Petrom, Romania-headquartered affiliate of Austria’s OMV, together with its partner, Romgaz, is progressing the development of the project, which is estimated to require up to €4 billion of investment, to achieve first gas in 2027.

Neptun Deep encompasses an offshore production platform, three subsea systems, ten production wells, covering four already drilled on Pelican South and six underway on Domino, as well as the onshore gas metering and control station at Tuzla.