Unusual cargo

CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER

Airbourne Lens

The Firth of Forth is witness to one of the more unusual cargoes to travel along its waters

Adecommissioned gas platform sails under the Forth Road Bridge on a barge after being removed from the East Irish Sea. The DP4 platform, which used to be operated by Spirit Energy, was removed by the world’s largest vessel, Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, in April before being taken back to shore in Rosyth. The full platform weighed ~6,000 tons, and the cargo barge pictured here, Allseas’ Iron Lady, is 200m long and 57m wide.

Donald Martin, senior project manager at Spirit Energy, told Project that: “This programme has been a privilege to work on over the last four years. The multi-faceted technical and environmental challenges encountered, including with legacy infrastructure preparations, removal and recycling, have required several industry firsts to be overcome. The most fulfilling part has been seeing all the companies involved innovating together to solve these issues, then witnessing the end result taking care of itself.”