Offshore staff
LERWICK, UK – Load-in has finished of CNR International’s 14,200-metric ton (15,653-ton) Ninian Northern platform topsides at Lerwick Harbour’s Dales Voe Base.
The structure arrived on Friday on Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, following a single lift offshore.
In the deepwater voe, the topsides was transferred straightaway onto Allseas’ cargo barge Iron Lady then moved to quayside. The Pioneering Spirit departed for Rotterdam eight hours later.
Sliding the topsides 185 m (607 ft) from the Iron Lady to a new heavy duty concrete pad at the base was a complex operation that continued over two days. It involved synchronizing the barge to the quayside so that it remained absolutely level, with a push/pull system of hydraulic engines sliding the total transfer weight of 16,200 metric tons (17,857 tons), including skid equipment, along purpose-built skid rails.
The pad has an impermeable surface with a 60-metric ton/sq m (66-ton/sq m) loading, which matches the quayside capacity. The quay’s 800 metric ton/m (882 ton/m) line loading facilitated the transfer of the topsides.
09/04/2020
