Blue Water Prepares for Rig Transport

Denmark's Blue Water Shipping has been awarded a contract to transport a jack-up rig to the Caspian Sea from the Arabian Gulf.

The jack-up rig was built by Lamprell at the Hamriyah facility in the United Arab Emirates. The rig has been ordered by Eurasia Drilling Company, an independent onshore drilling company in Russia.

Blue Water Shipping will navigate the rig through the Russian river system to the Caspian Sea, a route it has taken in the past when transporting other drilling platforms. Due to the limited width and draught of the river system locks, it is necessary to separate the platforms into smaller sections, and subsequently assemble them upon arrival to the Caspian Sea, according to Blue Water's Claus Laursen in Dubai.

The heaviest piece will weigh 1,050 tonnes and the total shipment will top 8,205 tonnes. The units will be transported on heavy-lift vessels from Dubai to the Black Sea where they will be transferred to river barges.

The transport consists of three shipments that are scheduled to start in March 2012 and be completed within four months.

Photo shows the transport of a gas production platform from Singapore to Baku by Blue Water Shipping. Courtesy of the Worldwide Project Consortium on behalf of Blue Water Shipping.