deploy the dp crane vessel Bokalift 1, which is due to be launched later this year in the decommissioning market. The brand new heavy lifting vessel Gulliver operated by Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors will also be deployed for similar work. Another joint venture that is very active in the decommissioning market is that between Peterson and Veolia, both of whom operate a series of dismantling facilities around the North Sea. In 2017, on behalf of Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, this joint venture started on the dismantling of the Buchan Alpha oil production vessel and together with Boskalis was responsible for the removal, transport and disposal of the Leman BH platform for Shell. The lifting and transport work was carried out using the floating sheerlegs Taklift 4. The platform was
located in the British sector of the North Sea and was transported to the new Peterson Veolia decommissioning base in Great Yarmouth. National platform In October 2016 the national platform Nexstep was established for re-use and decommissioning activities in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Nexstep is an initiative of Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), representative of the Dutch state in all Dutch oil and gas projects, and NOGEPA, the industry body for oil and gas producers in the Netherlands. Nexstep was launched with the mission of serving as an inclusive and collaborative umbrella organisation that coordinates, facilitates and seeks dialogue on the re-use and decommissioning agenda for oil and gas infrastructure in the Netherlands n
YET ANOTHER SERIES OF TOPFLIGHT PERFORMANCES BY DUTCH HEAVY TRANSPORT OPERATORS by Paul Schaap, PAS Publicaties
Just like in previous years, in 2017 the Dutch heavy transport operators once again completed a series of remarkable and ground-breaking operations with their impressive fleet of heavy transport vessels. In particular market leader Dockwise, a subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster, attracted considerable attention transporting huge loads for the Mariner project in the UK and the Aasta Hansteen project in Norway. At the same time, other Dutch operators including Red Box Energy Services, BigRoll Shipping, BigLift Shipping, Jumbo Shipping and RollDock Shipping featured strongly. In recent times, despite lower capacity utilisation, the Dockwise heavy transport fleet has been hard at work, including a series of trips between the Far East and Western Europe. These involved no less than five transport runs carrying eight heavy topsides modules and a flare boom for the large Mariner production platform that had to be installed in block 9/11A in the British sector of the North Sea. On 2 May 2017 the heavy transport vessel Forte set sail from South Korea carrying the first two topside modules. She was followed shortly afterwards by the Mighty Servant 3, Fjord, Trustee and Mighty Servant 1. In just a few short months a total of 38,000 tonnes of topside modules were successfully transferred to Western Europe. Another large-scale project involved the transport of 20
NETHERLANDS SUPPLIERS CATALOGUE 2018
the 109 metre-long hull of the Statoil Aasta Hansteen Spar platform, weighing in at a massive 46,000 tonnes, making this the largest Spar type platform in the world. In two months the Dockwise flagship Vanguard, transported this massive hull with a diameter of 50 metres from South Korea to Norway. Shortly afterwards, the White Marlin set sail from South Korea, carrying the 24,000-tonne topsides module for the same Aasta Hansteen platform. On arrival in Norway this huge module was taken on board by the heavy transport vessels Teal and Swift, that succeeded in installing the topside module on the previously arrived hull section by working as a sort of super catamaran, in a so-called dual-barge float-over operation. Yet another groundbreaking transport operation concluded successfully.
