Japanese shipping group Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has made the decision to invest in a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel with Mitsubishi Corporation.

The FPSO Turritella will be chartered and operated by NYK and Mitsubishi for Royal Dutch Shell's Stones project, an ultra-deep sea field in the Gulf of Mexico 2,900m below the surface and approximately 320km off the shore of Louisiana in the United States.

The depth of the Stones field is the deepest among all FPSO projects worldwide.

The vessel will have a turret featuring a detachable buoy that allows it to turn in place during normal weather conditions and, if stormy weather approaches, disconnect the mooring lines and risers from the well system and sail to a safe area.