Island sets record anchor pull ahead of rig arrival at North Sea Solveig field

Offshore staff

SCHIEDAM, the Netherlands – Island Offshore’s installation vessel Island Victory has set a world record for an anchor pull operation on Lundin Energy’s Solveig field in the Norwegian North Sea.

According to Vryhof Anchors, during anchor-laying operations the vessel pulled against the anchor with a continuous traction force of 440 metric tons (485 tons).

The Island Victory is the world’s most powerful anchor handling vessel, Vryhof added. It has installed the eight STEVSHARK REX drag embedment anchors in preparation for the semisubmersible West Bollsta to start drilling.

The anchors, suited to challenging soil conditions, are installed by embedding themselves into the seabed. A high force is applied to embed them correctly and to demonstrate that the holding capacity meets the 100-year design.

All the anchors were laid within two days in a water depth of around 100 m (328 ft), ready for hookup to the rig, in an area said to be historically difficult to work in, often requirins anchor re-setting or piggy back anchors.

However, the STEVSHARK REX is designed for quick seabed penetration, resulting in a shorter drag length during installation, with reduced time offshore.

Lundin is developing Solveig field as a subsea tieback to the Edvard Grieg platform.

03/23/2021