17,818-Ton Structure Maneuvered Using a “DP Float-Over” Operation
Boskalis has deployed its semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Forte to maneuver a mammoth topside into place at the Al Shaheen oilfield off the coast of Qatar.
The 17,818-ton Gallaf GE Central Processing Platform (CPP) topside was installed using a dynamic positioning (DP) float-over operation, which allows the structure to be placed with “surgical precision” between the legs of the pre-installed jacket.
By ballasting the vessel, the CPP was then mated on the jacket.
The CPP was the heaviest cargo ever loaded onto the Forte using the skid-on method, Boskalis said. The technique, carried out at the HOC yard in South Korea, involves “sliding” the topside sideways from the quayside onto the vessel’s deck via rail.
“For the Forte, the Gallaf project already marks the second DP float-over installation of 2024. Earlier this year in Malaysia, the Jerun A topside was installed this way,” Boskalis said.
Boskalis, a member of the Breakbulk Global Shipper Network, operates in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors.
The Netherlands-headquartered operator, whose revenues increased by 5% in the first six months of the year to over two billion euros, has been investing heavily in equipment that can deployed in both the offshore wind and fossil fuel energy markets.
The strategy had given it a “strong position in the lifecycle chain from development, installation and maintenance to decommissioning of offshore structures,” the company said in its latest financial statement.
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PHOTO CREDIT: Boskalis
