Offshore

Offshore Repairs

Two North Sea contracts completed by Allseas

Allseas’ 403,342 gt heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit has completed a successful processing and accommodation topsides and flare jackets removal campaign as part of the Tyra Redevelopment Project for Total E&P Denmark.

Over the last two weeks, Pioneering Spirit removed more than 27,000 tonnes of platform facilities from the North Sea’s Tyra gas field, transporting the structures to specialist yards in Denmark and the Netherlands for recycling.

The final two structures, flare jackets, will be transferred from Pioneering Spirit to a cargo barge for load-in to the Sagro yard in Vlissingen, Netherlands. The two processing and accommodation topsides and connected facilities were delivered in two earlier trips to the M.A.R.S. recycling yard in Frederikshavn, Denmark.

Structures were removed one-by-one in a time-critical sequence of lifts that required Pioneering Spirit to cover hundreds of miles between Denmark, the North Sea and the Netherlands during the two-week execution window.

The 14,000 tonne TEA topsides and 7,800 tonne TWA topsides were removed with the vessel’s motion compensated topsides lift system. For the smaller, lighter structures, the vessel’s new aft-mounted 5,000 tonne crane was deployed.

After transfer of the flare jackets to a cargo barge in Vlissingen, Pioneering Spirit sailed to Kristiansand, Norway, to prepare for its final removal job of 2020, the Ninian Northern topsides for Canadian Natural Resources International.

Allseas’ role in the redevelopment project covers engineering, preparation, removal, transportation, load-in to shore and recycling of the Tyra East Alpha (TEA) and Tyra West Alpha (TWA) topsides and jackets, integrated production facilities (IPF) module, two flare jackets and monopile. The Pioneering Spirit will return to the Tyra field to remove the TWA jacket in 2021 and the TEA jacket in 2022.

Meanwhile, Pioneering Spirit has successfully completed her third and final decommissioning job of 2020, a single-lift removal of the North Sea’s 14,200 tonne Ninian Northern topsides for CNR International (CNRI). Completed during the end part of August, the operation took approximately 2 hrs, from connecting the vessel’s lifting beams to the platform to the lift, The single-lift removal of the 14,000 tonnes TEA topsides by Pioneering Spirit

ensuring environmental emissions from the removal activities were kept to a minimum with the efficient vessel systems.

The actual ‘fast lift’ of the topsides took only 7 seconds. Pioneering Spirit will now deliver the topsides to the Peterson-Veolia yard in Dales Voe, Shetland, for disposal. The facility will target over a 97% reuse/recycle ratio and create a number of jobs over the period the topsides are dismantled.

The eight steel legs were cut during a second phase of preparations in 2019. Pioneering Spirit will return to the Ninian field in summer 2022 to remove the supporting jacket structure. After transfer and load-in of the Ninian Northern topsides at Dales Voe, the vessel will sail to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for jacket lift system installation works and to prepare for upcoming projects.

FPSO contract for Sulzer

Delivering routine maintenance services requires a concerted team effort, such as that demonstrated by Sulzer when replacing a large motor from FPSO in the North Sea. It is quite an effort to remove a component as large as a 10.7 MW motor so that it can be taken onshore for planned maintenance. This task alone requires some expert precision, while the refurbishment needs to be completed by a properly qualified service centre that is approved to work on components that are ex-rated and operate in potentially explosive atmospheres.

In this case, Sulzer was contracted to complete a motor change-out due to deterioration of the installed equipment, which had been in service for 10 years. The motor, which was originally manufactured by Laurence Scott in 2007, powers a high-pressure export compressor. Sulzer is currently the authorised repairer for ATB Laurence Scott motors and offers its technical expertise and rapid response to all customers, especially those operating in the North Sea. WA complex lift plan needed to be put in place before the motor was loaded onto a waiting vessel and transported to Sulzer’s service centre in Falkirk. A team of Sulzer’s engineers are specially trained for working in offshore environments and assist in disconnecting, removing and packaging the motor ready for transport.

Although much of the refurbishment process was routine, special attention was required with all of the electrical connections and their enclosures to ensure continued compliance with ex-regulations. Any equipment that is designed for operation in potentially explosive atmospheres, must be repaired and installed by suitably qualified engineers.

The facilities within the Sulzer network, such as the in-house copper mill and high voltage (HV) coil manufacturing centre, combined with expertise in the offshore sector, were some of the many reasons that the company was selected. In this case, Sulzer was holding a spare motor in stock, and this would be installed to minimise downtime on the FPSO. Due to the complex crane lift required to transfer the motor onto the vessel, the operation had to be carefully timed to coincide with a calm sea state, which is something of a rarity in the North Sea.

Once all of the work was complete, the rebuilt motor was comprehensively tested before a full factory acceptance test (FAT) was carried out by ATB LS. The test ensures that the correct procedures have been carried out and that the rebuilt motor meets OEM standards and can be reinstalled.

Reinstalling the rotor as the project draws to a close

KM wins Island Offshore contract

Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime (KM) has been contracted by Norway’s Island Offshore to supply turnkey hybrid battery solutions for three

of the firm’s UT 776 CD-design PSVs.

Two of the ships, Island Crusader and Island Contender, previously operated with a combination of Bergen LNG engines and Bergen Diesel engines, while the Island Commander deploys four diesels. The conversion of all three into hybrid craft not only represents a firm commitment on the part of Island Offshore to the principles of environmental responsibility, but also unlocks a wealth of potential for increased operational efficiency and a marked reduction in maintenance requirements. This in turn translates to significant cost savings for the company.

In the past, PSVs have typically run multiple engines to achieve redundancy, with consequent impacts on fuel performance, equipment health and emissions. However, combining conventional LNG or diesel engines with KM’s SAVe Energy battery system – which has been validated by DNV-GL – produces instant benefits. The batteries allow for fewer engines to be running, thus improving efficiency by increasing the load on the remaining engines while also instantly delivering power on demand: ideal in the context of low-load operations such as Dynamic Positioning. Fuel consumption and running costs will also be reduced through conversion of the vessels to closed bus-tie operation.

The solution opted for by Island Offshore will operate via a single feed from the ESS (Energy Storage System) to the main switchboard – with manual changeover that will enable the operators to balance out running hours on generators – and a 600 kW dual shore connection. KM’s 8 m ESS 896 kW/hr deckhouse will encompass a standard, typeapproved, liquid-cooled container solution with air-cooled SAVe Energy batteries. The extensive

Island Offshore has contracted KM to convert three of its PSVs to use hybrid power technology scope of supply will also involve modifications to each vessel’s main switchboard and K-Power EMS energy management system, as well as an upgrade of the Acon automation and alarm system.

Modec contract for SRO Solutions

UK’s SRO Solutions has completed a major digitalisation project for offshore giant MODEC at its operations in Ghana. The project, part of a series of high value digitisation upgrades SRO has completed for the business since 2018, has resulted in a more efficient and accurate inventory for MODEC in Ghana streamlining its onshore headquarters in Accra with its vessels the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah in the Jubilee Oil Field, and FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills (JAM) in the Tano Ennyera Ntomme (TEN) Oil Field.

The latest piece of work saw SRO improve MODEC’s current system, which was prone to ordering errors resulting in stock lying in storerooms for longer than necessary and purchasing orders being raised to order materials which were already held in stock.

SRO originally improved IBM’s Maximo asset management software by redeveloping all of the workflows in the system, including service requests, work orders, purchase requisitions, requests for quotations, purchase orders and deferrals. It also built in a feature to record shipping manifests to track outbound and inbound deliveries and a label printing function so that all items received are automatically given a barcode. The projects for MODEC took more than 1,300 hours to implement and saw SRO delivering staff training on the new system.

SRO senior consultant Jonathan Ritchie, who led the projects, said, “The business processes MODEC was working under were not fit for purpose, with various records being workflowed to the wrong people for approval and then having to be moved around, resulting in delays. After improving these areas using IBM’s Maximo, we implemented some additional features and functionalities to help with the inventory movements between the vessels and onshore storerooms feeding offshore storerooms, resulting in increased speed and accurate inventory usage and volumes.

“As an example, before implementing these changes in Maximo, if MODEC needed 10 of a The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah

particular item and there were five in stock, the old system would just reorder 10 and the five would remain in stock instead of being used. The new system would just order five.”

The latest piece of work is just one of a package of improvements SRO has made for MODEC, which employs more than 5,000 people world-wide. The client, recognised as a leader in floating production vessels for the oil and gas industry, was already using IBM’s Maximo, but an audit carried out by SRO revealed the software was not being used to its full potential. SRO’s first job was to optimise the Maximo system as well as installing its own SDR data replication software, which synchronises data across the business. Since then, the Manchester IT expert has carried out a number of projects and developed a close relationship with MODEC.

BV’s work on ROSS

Bureau Veritas (BV) has been working with the French flag to support and enable SeaOwl’s innovative remote-operated vessel project. The Remotely Operated Services at Sea (ROSS concept and capability were recently successfully demonstrated by SeaOwl. The ROSS retrofitted, BV-classed, supply ship VN Rebel was operated by a SeaOwl captain based in Paris. The Paris captain was able to take and maintain command of the VN Rebel navigating off the French Mediterranean port of Toulon with full remote control of the ship.

The VN Rebel was sailing with the required authorisations from the French flag ensuring compliance with IMO’s resolution for the trial of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). This is the very first time that this resolution has been applied in France to a ship of this size.

BV provided a reference framework, and risk analysis - based on its own guidance for

SeaOwl’s demonstration in action

autonomous shipping (NI 641), to develop a means for the French maritime administration to approve the ROSS concept - IMO MSC.1/Circ. 1455 for alternative designs.

BV’s detailed risk analysis and marine experts assessed the systems’ critical functions to help demonstrate equivalence with traditional maritime convention requirements for safe navigation and operations as required under SOLAS.

The analysis addressed the resilience of the communications link provided by Marlink (also a partner in the project), the remote operation of watch-keeping, and communications functions. The analysis also included the corresponding remote operations of the machinery including engine, dynamic positioning (DP) provided by Sirehna (also a partner in the project) and the cybersecurity of the system.

During the test, in addition to proving the availability of remote navigation functions (steering, visual watch, VHF, anti-collision manoeuvres, etc.), the SeaOwl crew also demonstrated responses to several scenarios including a weather incident, resulting in the loss of communications connectivity, and a cybersecurity attack with the detection of a GPS blurring.

Following this successful demonstration, the next step for SeaOwl is to validate the concept of ROSS on-board a newbuilding designed to provide services to offshore platforms. The French Department of Maritime Affairs (DAM – the French Ministry for the Sea) has supported this project from inception, and has assisted the stakeholders in the development of a methodology that ensures a high level of safety and allows the certification of the first remotely operated vessel in France.

Able Marine Energy park up and running

The head of Able UK has predicted that the Able Marine

years of excellence

Maritime Manpower

SHIPYARD PERSONNEL OIL & ENERGY PERSONNEL RIDING SQUADS CREWING

9 Puskin Street, Constanta, Romania T +40 241 586810 F +40 241 586805

www.nedcon.ro

Follow us on:

MLC 2006 Approved

Certified by Lloyd’s Register

Energy Park is ready to become a ‘a vital part of the brave new world’ of offshore wind as one of the world’s leading pipe manufacturers confirmed its intention to establish a monopile production facility on the South Bank of the Humber, potentially creating around 400 jobs.

Monopiles, which are driven into the seabed, provide the foundations for offshore wind turbines and currently there are no production facilities in the UK. The South Korean manufacturer SeAH has signed an exclusive MoU with Able UK to use the Able Marine Energy Park development.

Able UK’s Executive Chairman Peter Stephenson said, “The offshore wind sector is potentially on the cusp of something very special. We have a clear and unambiguous policy from the UK Government through the Sector Deal in the Industrial Strategy, and the increasingly demanding targets for both power generation and the extent of UK content. Combine this with the sector’s extraordinary efforts in terms of developing new products and significantly reducing costs and the sector is set to become a dominant factor in a post COVID-19 UK economy.

“However, to make the most of this ‘brave new world’, and to deliver 60% UK content we must act now to capitalise on this singular, but time-limited opportunity. The Able Marine Energy Park can and will play a vital role in this process to, first and foremost, provide purposebuilt heavy-duty deep-water quays and, just as crucially, a large expanse of adjacent supporting hinterland (353 acres).

“Unless we can put in place these key building blocks the status quo will prevail and the aspirations to maximise UK activity will be further diminished. SeAH is one of a number of manufacturers with who we are at similar stages of negotiation. SeAH have fully embraced the concept of establishing a new ‘world-scale’ industrial cluster for offshore wind on the Humber and with it the overarching strength of the UK’s offshore wind sector. Subject to our receiving the necessary support the first quays will be available towards the end of 2022, to coincide with the needs of both manufacturers and the developers of the offshore wind farms.”

Two offshore contracts underway at DDW

UAE’s Drydocks World – Dubai (DDW) held a steel-cutting ceremony to mark the start of production on Jotun FPSO Fabrication of Turntable Project for Bluewater Energy Services for end client, Vår Energi. This Turntable is part of a Turret Mooring System (TMS) for the Jotun A FPSO unit to be permanently moored and operated at the Balder field in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea.

The Turntable is 24 m in diameter and 10 m high, weighing around 925 tonnes. The work on the project will require around 275,000 man hours to complete the fabrication and testing works.

The scope of this fabrication project by DDW includes bulk procurement, fabrication engineering, assembly, inspection, mechanical completion, testing and load-out of the Turret Turntable. The project is scheduled to be delivered by the middle of 2021. The Turntable will be designed, fabricated and tested in

An artist’s impression of the Able Marine Energy Park

The steel cutting ceremony for the Jotun FPSO project at DDW

accordance with stringent Norwegian & International Standards.

Meanwhile, DDW also held a steel-cutting ceremony to commence production on single point mooring buoy for the Lekki SPM project planned to be installed in the petroleum product handling facility at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Orwell successfully secured the contract for the fabrication, which includes the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis and installation of the Buoy by Pinnacle Oil & Gas - aiming to develop the petroleum product handling facility in Nigeria.

The Buoy is 16.5 m diameter and 10.6 m high, weighing around 290 tonnes. The work on the project will require around 110,000 man hours to complete the fabrication and testing works.

DDW’s scope of fabrication includes bulk procurement, fabrication engineering, assembly, machining, inspection, mechanical completion, testing and load-out of the SPM Buoy. The project is scheduled to be delivered by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

When completed, the proposed mooring facilities will transfer petroleum products through pipelines between the offshore mooring facilities and the onshore storage terminal. The Lekki SPM project will be certified in line with the requirements of the ABS Rules for Building and Classing Single Point Moorings, 2014.

FPSO contract for PSM Instruments

PSM Instrumentation continue to deliver global projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working closely with their Spanish Agents, Aries Industrial Y Naval Servicios, it has recently delivered a complete instrumentation package for the FPSO Blue Eagle, a newbuild, which is under construction in Spain’s Armon Shipyards, Vigo. The completed vessel will measure 106 m long, 25 m wide and 12 m deep, and have a capacity of 7,300 m3 of crude oil and be capable of treating 20,000 bbls/day.

As part of Scanjet, PSM are able to offer a full range of intelligent maritime tank instrumentation and so for the cargo tanks they supplied Scanrad level transmitters, Multipoint averaging temperature transmitters, Inert gas pressure transmitters and High/ Overfill alarm switches. PSM also delivered PSM APT1000 Series transmitters for all ballast and service tanks. Zener Safety barrier panels were included for all instrument signals. Representatives from Scanjet PSM will be on-board the vessel to commission the instrumentation, with the delivery of the completed vessel scheduled for 2021. The hull of the Blue Eagle

MODERN CLASS FOR SMARTER OPERATIONS

Today’s market needs a smarter approach – and a classification partner who prioritizes safety. Find out how our classification solutions turn possibilities into opportunities – and make your operations safer, smarter and greener. Learn more at dnvgl.com/maritime