Arpoador hull gears up for journey

Feet wet: the hull of the newbuild drillship Arpoador was launched at sea last week in Singapore. The rig, the first of 29 Sete Brasil units under construction, is due to arrive in Brazil in January 2014 to be assembled at the Jurong Aracruz shipyard in Espirito Santo state. The drillship – which will be capable of operating in water depths of 3000 metres and spud wells to final depths of 12,200 metres – is expected to enter operations for Petrobras in mid-2015.