Sep 05 | 2020
14,200-tonne Ninian Northern topside operation for North Sea decommissioning
Fagioli recently took a leading role in the load-in operation for the 14,200-tonne Ninian Northern topside at Lerwick Harbour's Dales Voe Base. The structure arrived from the North Sea field on 28 August on Allseas' construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit, following a swift single lift offshore.
The topside was transferred immediately onto Allsea's Iron Lady cargo barge and then moved to quayside. After only eight hours on her first visit into a UK port, Pioneering Spirit, the world largest heavy-lift vessel, departed for Rotterdam, three hours ahead of schedule, Lerwick Port Authority said in a statement.
The complex operation by Fagioli to slide the topside 185 metres from Iron Lady to a newly-built heavy duty concrete pad, spanned two days. The process involved synchronising the barge to the quayside to remain absolutely level and employing Fagioli’s push and pull skidding system of hydraulic engines to slide the topside to the prepared pad. The total transfer weight was 16,200 tonnes, including skid equipment, which moved along purpose-built skid rails. Dismantling the Ninian Northern topside will be done by Veolia/Peterson.
