Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published Jul 19, 2022 2:46 PM by The Maritime Executive

Allseas' massive heavy-lift ship Pioneering Spirit has removed an 11,000-tonne platform jacket from Repsol's Gyda field, one of the heaviest jacket-lift jobs ever completed in one piece. 

Pioneering Spirit, the world's largest vessel by displacement, was purpose-built for two specialized tasks - laying pipe and removing/installing platform topsides. She has a unique fast-lift hydraulic system on two forward pontoons, which she uses to rapidly lift and remove an entire topside module in a single evolution (up to 48,000 tonnes).

Until recently, however, she could not lift jackets. To solve that problem, Allseas commissioned two giant lifting beams to mount on Pioneering Spirit's stern, turning her into a 20,000-tonne floating sheerlegs when needed. Uniquely, the legs are hinged and equipped with a jacking system that lowers them back onto deck for transit. This will allow the vessel to pick up a jacket and lay it flat (or at an angle) before heading back to port. The beams give a new purpose to her expansive stern, which was previously set up for mega-scale pipelay operations. 

At Gyda, Allseas' scope of work included removing both the 18,000 tonne platform and the 11,000 tonne jacket. In advance of the job, the team fabricated special bearing brackets and lift trunnions to take the load of the platform. Over the span of 12 days in May, Pioneering Spirit loaded out the platform and related equipment, then delivered it to the quay at Aker Solutions’ scrapyard in Stord, Norway.

To prepare for removal of the jacket, the structure’s 24 foundation piles were cut below seabed level. Hoist blocks connected to the lifting beams were hooked up to  pre-installed rigging and the entire structure was pulled up and prepared for transport. The jacket could not sustain the load if laid down flat, so Pioneering Spirit carried it back into port in a near-vertical position. On Tuesday morning, the jacket was set down directly onto the quayside next to the topside module. 

Over the course of the year to date, Pioneering Spirit has lifted and transported more than 90,000 tonnes of decommissioned and new offshore facilities, including both jackets and topsides. Later this year, it will take on a job in the offshore wind sector, installing a jacket and a transmission platform for a wind farm in the German North Sea. 

Published Oct 13, 2022 10:55 PM by The Maritime Executive

A serious engine room fire aboard the towboat Capt. Kirby Dupuis escalated because the crew did not know how to activate its fixed firefighting system, according to the NTSB.   On November 9, 2021, the towing vessel Capt. Kirby Dupuis was pushing thirteen barges upbound on the Ohio River near Belleview, Kentucky. At about 0708, the master saw a flash of light on the video monitor for the engine room, and the fire alarm sounded. The captain activated the general...

Published Oct 13, 2022 9:43 PM by The Strategist

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Published Oct 13, 2022 9:36 PM by The Maritime Executive

DNV expects that offshore wind will play a substantial part in the energy transition, increasing its market share to nearly 10 percent of global electrical power generation through 2050.  Thanks to the relative ease of scaling up, offshore wind will likely enjoy an annualized growth rate of about 13 percent over the coming decades, the class society predicted in its annual Energy Transition Outlook. This corresponds to a cumulative 56-fold capacity increase over the same period.  The key regions for offshore wind...

Published Oct 13, 2022 8:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

In a strongly-worded warning published Thursday, the International Energy Agency cautioned that the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production quotas could have a destabilizing effect on the world economy. Brent prices have risen by $14 per barrel since the announcement, reaching about $98.  "With unrelenting inflationary pressures and interest rate hikes taking their toll, higher oil prices may prove the tipping point for a global economy already on the brink of recession," warned IEA.  The announced cut is in the...

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