China delivers the largest drilling rig in the world

The world’s most advanced ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig has been delivered by China’s Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore shipyard.

The DP3 rig Bluewhale 1 has an operating depth of up to 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) and a drilling depth to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters), making it capable of drilling in any waters around the world. It is 387 feet (118 meters) high, equal to a 37-story building.

CIMC Raffles says the 42,000 ton vessel uses 10 percent less fuel than comparable rigs.

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SeaOwls and Ulstein conceive ballast water free heavylift jack-up concept

Netherlands-based SeaOwls and Norwegian shipyard Ulstein have launched a pioneering heavy lift jack-up vessel design concept, the Soul. The cruciform structural lay-out is claimed to make the patent-pending solution more than 10 per cent lighter than conventional jack-up vessel designs, yet, all loading and installation operations can be performed without the need of ballast water.

In combination with a high capacity crane, the SOUL enables operators to take the next step in developing offshore wind farms. The concept aims to install the next generation wind turbines (10-12 MW) in the same time frame as currently used for installing 6-8 MW units, a significant efficiency gain over any jack-up vessel design currently available in the market.

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New DNV GL standard ensures reliable dynamic positioning capability assessments

DNV GL presented its new standard for assessing the station keeping capability of dynamic positioning (DP) vessels at the European Dynamic Positioning Conference which was held in London in February.

The ability to assess and compare the position-keeping capability of a ship equipped with DP technology is vital during the planning and design phases, and provides valuable operational decision support. The DNVGL-ST-0111 standard is the first to provide a unified approach to these assessments, ensuring verifiable results and increasing transparency in the market.

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Hempel launches two new epoxy primers for harsher offshore conditions

Denmark-headquartered coatings specialist Hempel is introducing two new coatings; Hempadur Quattro XO 17820 and 17870.

They are being introduced to increase the service life and reduce on-station maintenance requirements of offshore assets. The new high-performance pure epoxy uni-primers presented are claimed to combine excellent corrosion protection with construction flexibility.

Hempadur Quattro XO 17820 / 17870 are part of a series of two-component epoxy primer coatings which provide advanced crack resistance using Hempel’s patented fibre technology. They can be applied in immersed and non-immersed areas of any offshore asset, from offshore platforms and drilling rigs through to support vessels.

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VEKA Group set to build the world’s first hybrid trimaran for transporting personnel offshore

VEKA Group set to build the world's first hybrid trimaran workboat
VEKA Group set to build the world’s first hybrid trimaran workboat

Workers on drilling rigs and offshore wind farms can hopefully look forward to a more pleasant commute to work with considerably lower risk of seasickness thanks to a special, innovative ship built by VEKA Group. VEKA will be building two trimarans intended specifically for transporting personnel and freight to offshore wind farms. These are the first hybrid trimarans in the world. Transporting offshore personnel takes place mainly by catamaran. These will be VEKA’s first trimarans.

Most of the innovations are intended to make the so-called workboat more stable and more comfortable, thereby reducing the risk of seasickness. For example, the ships have lower windows than is customary, so that the passengers have a better view. The third bow is designed to ensure additional stability and comfort. There are also innovative stabilisers built into the hull.

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DNV GL reveals the patterns behind incidents, accidents and failures

Learning from failures and incidents is essential in a lean and cost effective organisation and is often a fundamental requirement in regulations. However, incidents should not be seen in isolation as the broader view and key industry learnings might get lost. DNV GL has investigated over 2000 incidents and failures globally, identifying trends among the data and invites the oil and gas industry to join and share experiences. To further strengthen DNV GL’s global lab capabilities for failure investigation, a new lab in Bergen is opening, including one of the world’s largest tensile testing machines.

As the oil and gas industry strives for cost effective execution in projects and operations while maintaining a high focus on safety and environmental footprint, innovative and smart solutions are needed more than ever. By extracting data and knowledge from all the detailed incident investigations performed over the years, solutions might be just around the corner.

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Automated Ships Ltd and Kongsberg to test the water with a fully automated offshore vessel

Automated Ships Ltd from the UK and Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build the world’s first unmanned and fully-automated vessel for offshore operations. In January 2017, Automated Ships Ltd will contract the ‘Hrönn’, which will be designed and built in Norway in co-operation with Kongsberg.

Sea trials will take place in Norway’s newly designated automated vessel test bed in the Trondheim fjord and will be conducted under the auspices of DNV GL and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA). The Hrönn will ultimately be classed and flagged, respectively.

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Biggest shake up for IMCA’s CMID inspectors in the 17 year history of the scheme announced

IMCA has provided the IMCA M 149 – Common Marine Inspection Document – for 17 years and it has seen a number of iterative changes over this period and has also seen the introduction of IMCA M 189 – Marine inspection for small workboats (common marine inspection document for small workboats). Since 2009, when the electronic CMID (eCMID) database was introduced, there have been calls from the industry to increase the integrity of the common marine inspection document (CMID) system.

That there is a burden of over-auditing on IMCA’s vessel operators is not in doubt and in an effort to reduce this burden in due course, through greater integration with the Continue reading “Biggest shake up for IMCA’s CMID inspectors in the 17 year history of the scheme announced”

BAM set to build and install world’s first gravity base foundations for offshore wind turbines

BAM International has achieved a worldwide first having been awarded a contract to design, fabricate and install five full-size gravity base foundations for wind turbines off the Northumberland coast in the UK. The contract has been awarded to BAM by EDF Energy Renewables via SPV Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Ltd and utilises leading edge technology, the first of its kind to be built in the world.

The foundation design will utilise ‘self-installing’ technology, which has been developed by two BAM companies, BAM Nuttall and BAM Infra. The design is being undertaken by BAM Infraconsult.

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Bureau Veritas publishes guidelines for offshore access systems

The increasing use of offshore access systems that are now routinely used in the offshore oil and gas, as well as the offshore wind industry, has prompted classification society, Bureau Veritas, to publishing some guidelines.

The guidelines have been developed for motion compensated offshore access systems, which are used to transfer various personnel from all disciplines to and from offshore vessels and offshore installations and structures.

Guidance Note NI629: Certification of Offshore Access Systems provides a clear and comprehensive overview of the safety principles and technical requirements for the design, manufacturing and operation of reliable and dependable equipment for the safe transfer of personnel at sea. Continue reading “Bureau Veritas publishes guidelines for offshore access systems”

FPSO composite repair system for offshore structures approved by Bureau Veritas

cold patchLeading international classification society Bureau Veritas has approved in principle the repair of offshore structures using the bonded composite product Coldshield, developed by Paris based Cold Pad. Coldshield is a composite structural reinforcement specifically developed for the harsh environments of offshore units.

Matthieu de Tugny, Senior Vice-President and Head of Offshore, Bureau Veritas, says, “Coldshield offers a long awaited solution for the repair of corroded offshore structure without the need for welding or downtime. We have combined our expertise in marine composites and bonding with our experience of the hydrodynamic loadings and constraints of offshore units to assess Coldshield. We believe that Coldshield is the first non-welded structural repair method available for an FPSO hull.”

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The 2016 UK Budget offers support for shipping and offshore

Gill Smith of Moore Stephens. The company says that the budget has some surprise developments which are likely to be of interest to the shipping sector
Gill Smith of Moore Stephens. The company says that the budget has some surprise developments which are likely to be of interest to the shipping sector

Moore Stephens International Limited, a global accountancy and advisory network with its headquarters in London, has said that the UK Budget 2016 contains a number of surprise developments which are likely to be of interest to the shipping sector, as well as a radical set of measures which it is hoped will assist the offshore maritime oil and gas sector.

The Government announced a further reduction in the rate of corporation tax, which will be 17% from 1 April 2020. There are also significant reductions in the rates of capital gains tax. From 6 April 2016, the higher rate of capital gains tax for individuals will be reduced from 28% to 20%, and the basic rate will be reduced from 18% to 10%, although an additional 8% will apply for carried interest and for gains on some residential property.

In addition, Entrepreneurs’ Relief will be extended to apply to long-term investors in unlisted companies. Under these new rules, a 10% rate of capital gains tax will apply for gains on newly issued shares in unlisted companies acquired on or after 17 March 2016, provided they are held for at least three years from 6 April 2016. There is a separate lifetime limit of £10 million of gains.

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