Singapore-based ocean towing firm POSH Terasea has announced that five of its anchor-handling vessels will be taking the Prelude FLNG – the world's largest offshore facility – from Samsung's Geoje shipyard to the Browse natural gas basin offshore Australia, a distance of over 3,000 nm.

POSH will deploy the recently built anchor handling tugs Terasea Osprey, Terasea Falcon, Terasea Hawk, and Terasea Eagle, plus the anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) POSH Champion for the long-distance tow. The vessels are POSH's most powerful, all in the 16,000 bhp class with bollard pull in the range of 200 tons.

The firm will also be the designated project manager for the voyage and will provide installation positioning of the facility on station at the Prelude gas field.

POSH Terasea is a recently formed joint venture between PACC Offshore Services and Terasea, which is itself a joint venture between Seabridge Marine Services and Ezion Holdings. The 2013 JV agreement left POSH with what was the largest and newest fleet of ocean towing tugs at the time, with diverse options in three bollard pull classes.

POSH saw reasonably solid business in the weak 2015 oil and gas market with 75 percent utilization of its fleet. The firm conducted 35 scheduled tows of offshore equipment and barges, several emergency tows for disabled vessels, one salvage operation, and its first ever barge transportation of ship to shore container cranes. Among noteworthy voyages, the Hawk and Eagle circumnavigated the globe last year with a string of deliveries and a demobilization across the Pacific.

Delivery and commencement of production for the 600,000 ton Prelude FLNG are scheduled for 2016. The facility will be moored at the Prelude and Concerto offshore gas fields in the Browse Basin, off Western Australia. Its LNG is intended for sale on the Asian market, and it has an estimated service life of 20 to 25 years.

The Prelude's hull was launched in December 2013. At 600,000 tons displacement at full load, she is six times heavier than a full-size aircraft carrier, and only ten percent lighter than the record-holding ULCC Knock Nevis (formerly Seawise Giant).

POSH Terasea Salviteras making tow with FSO Cilacap