Smit Transport & Heavy Lift looks set for a busy year ahead. In the UK, this month sees the completion of a programme of lifts at Port Clarence, on the river Tees, for the Triton FPSO. This Amerada Hess/Shell vessel was built by Samsung in Korea, arriving at the Kværner Oil & Gas Port Clarence facility in December.
This project has needed two sheerlegs, a 24,000 dwt submersible barge and a large flat-top barge. The barges were required for the river transport of large pallets and other heavy items, from the fabrication yard to the Cargo Fleets outfitting quay, where the FPSO is moored.
During December, a sheerlegs was rigged with the 130m long boom to install a large module, the turret and other elements. During the first quarter of this year more modules have been installed, the heaviest requiring dual lifts.
Kværner designed and fabricated a large lifting frame to provided additional stiffness for the pancake modules. It allowed module weights to be maximised, with minimal deflection occurring during the lifts. This approach significantly reduced the structural steel weight of the modules.
The Triton FPSO’s spider was installed during the December visit. A sheerlegs placed the spider into a dredged pocket in the riverbed. The FPSO then moved over the location and a computer-controlled jack lifting system was used to achieve the hook-up.
In Norway, Smit opened the first quarter with a complex triple lift at Offshore & Marine, Stavanger. This was required for the installation of a 1,650t double Ram Rig for the CADS1 drillship. This was Smit’s second visit to Stavanger for CADS1. In June of last year, a sheerlegs lifted into place five topsides modules, the heaviest weighing in at 1,018t.
Equipment mobilised for the latest CADS1 visit included two floating sheerlegs and a third crane vessel. A triple lift solution was devised to avoid the need to relocate CADS1 to a position offering deeper water. Instead, the operation was performed at the quayside.
The big lift was achieved in a sequence that began with one sheerlegs approaching the Ram Rig from the front and taking a load of 1,000t. The second sheerlegs and the crane vessel (both rigged with long booms) reached over the Ram Rig and took on loads of 360t and 290t respectively.
Stavanger is also the venue for a heavy lift programme for the Asgard B semi-submersible production unit. This contract with Kværner Oil & Gas involved the installation of various modules and assistance in construction of the main deck, which is being fabricated in two sections (Deck West and Deck East).
During February a floating sheerlegs called at Stavanger to install the first section of Deck East, which is being fabricated between two support pillars and the quay. This initial section weighed 1,295t.
Deck West is being fabricated over the yard’s large drydock. The sheerlegs will return in May to place modules on this deck section. This will require great precision as the sheerlegs must enter the drydock to install two modules, the largest weighing 1,400t.
The third visit in this series is scheduled for June, when the majority of Asgard B’s modules will be installed. The largest, at 1,650t, will involve a dual lift with a second sheerlegs. Both sheerlegs are also required for the operation to upend the flare tower, which will then be lifted into place by the sheerlegs rigged with the long boom.
Contracts later this year include a major series of lifts at Bull Arm, Newfoundland, required for the outfitting of Terra Nova, the first FPSO for deployment in Canadian waters. This contract marks Smit’s entry into the higher capacity sector of the market. A total of 18 lifts will be performed over a two week period in December. They involve weights of up to 2,300t. The topside elements to be lifted include a large flareboom, a turret and a series of modules.
