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M
V Lone was chartered for transport and launch lift
of a 1000 tons submerged turret production (STP)
buoy from Batam to the Firth of Forth in Scot-
land. Given a short time window, MV Lone performed the
8000 miles voyage with a fast average speed of 19.3 knots.
The Catcher Area Development is located in Block 28/9 of the
UK Continental Shelf, approximately 180 kilometers east of Ab-
erdeen. The development consists of three discoveries, Catcher,
Varadero and Burgman, located in a water depth of approxi-
mately 90 metres. First oil production is targeted for 2017. Each
field is to be developed as a subsea tie-back to a new Floating,
Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, exporting oil
by shuttle tanker and gas by a ten inch pipeline connected to the
existing Fulmar pipeline.
The buoy was loaded in Batam, Singapore, at the manufac-
turer’s yard by the world’s largest sheerleg crane “
Asian Hercu-
les 3
”. For the loading, challenging mooring conditions had to be
mastered:
A 280 × 90 feet spacer barge was utilized between MV Lone and
the jetty, while the mooring system also had to transfer the loads
from the huge sheerleg crane.
As the tight time schedule called for a fast heavy lift vessel,
MV Lone managed the transfer from Singapore to Scotland with-
in 20 days. The launch lift of the buoy required a well-planned
setting: Ballast spread was set up on deck of MV Lone, while two
anchor-handling tugs were moored alongside and hooked up the
towing-bridles. The rigging consisted of six 300 tons shackles,
steel wire grommets and an 18 metres lifting beam.
In order to ensure a smooth discharging operation, the crew of
MV Lone had already performed a trial lift in Batam to prove the
rigging arrangement. The buoy was finally lifted with a tandem
lift from the transport cradle into the water ensuring a safety
distance to the ship’s side. During ballasting, MV Lone held on to
the buoy for 24 hours to keep it stable, simultaneously handling
the ballasting hoses and towing bridles.
For contractual reasons, SAL engineering answered to two
representatives of the involved parties and to their Marine War-
ranty Surveyors – SAL’s crew and performance received utmost
appreciation.
D
May 2016 | Batam, Singapore – Firth of Forth, Scotland
“The highly skilled
ship’s crew of
MV Lone performed
an excellent job.”
Dave Colbron, Field Engineer,
IKM Testing UK
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BUOY