Heavy Lift: Boka Vanguard to Ship 90,000-ton FPSO

Boskalis' mega lift ship Boka Vanguard -- the world's largest semi-submersible heavy lift vessel -- is preparing to load a truly enormous cargo: a 90,000-ton floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platform.

The FPSO is equivalent to the weight of approximately 300 Boeing 747s, making this the heaviest cargo ever to be transported by a semi-submersible heavy lift ship, according to Boskalis.

Until recently, the Boka Vanguard was known as the Dockwise Vanguard. Boskalis acquired Dockwise in 2013, and the renaming and subsequent rebranding of the vessel marks the start of the process to present the company's integrated service portfolio for the offshore energy sector under the Boskalis brand name, the company said.

The vessel has been used in a number of high-profile projects, including the transport of Costa Concordia in 2014.