Pioneering Spirit (formerly Pieter Schelte) is the largest construction vessel in the world. Inspired by the offshore heavy lifting pioneer Pieter Schelte Heerema (1908–81) and designed completely inhouse, the vessel is designed for the singlelift installation and removal of large oil and gas platforms and the installation of recordweight pipelines.

The emergence of Pioneering Spirit signifies a stepchange in offshore installation and decommissioning. Capable of lifting entire platform topsides of up to 48,000 t and jackets up to 20,000 t in a single piece, she significantly reduces the amount of offshore work associated with installation and decommissioning, moving the work onshore where it is safer and more cost effective.

Built at the DSME shipyard in South Korea (2011–14), the vessel commenced offshore operations in 2016 with removal of the 13,500 t Yme production unit offshore Norway.
The vessel redefined heavy lifting with the singlelift removal of Shell’s iconic 24,000 t Brent Delta platform topsides from the North Sea in April 2017 a world record for an offshore lift.
In June 2018 Pioneering Spirit executed the fastest installation of a large, fully completed topside, and heaviest singlelift installation to date, when it set down Equinor’s 22,000 t Johan Sverdrup DP topsides on its jacket offshore Norway.

The twinhulled vessel is 382 m long and 124 m wide. At the bow is a slot, 122 m long and 59 m wide, that enables Pioneering Spirit to move around a platform and lift and transport entire topsides using eight sets of horizontal lifting beams.
For jacket removal and installation, two 170 m long lifting beams, which can rotate on hinges, will be located at the vessel’s stern.
Complementing the lifting systems is a 5000 t special purpose crane for additional lifts such as lighter topsides and jackets, modules and bridges.
In the summer of 2021, Pioneering Spirit surpassed the 200,000 tonne mark for lifted platform weight.