Island Offshore sets anchor handling record
Written by Nick Blenkey
Image courtesy Island Offshore
The Island Offshore Group, which is majority owned by the Ulstein and Chouest families, has notched up a world record. In anchor-laying operations on the Solveig field in the North Sea, operated by Lundin Energy Norway, Island Offshore’s deep-water installation vessel Island Victory pulled against the anchor with a continuous force of 440 tonnes.
This 440 tonnes of continuous traction on an anchor pull is a world record. In cases where such a significant degree of force is needed this is normally done “in tandem” by two vessels. Island Victory, however, did it alone.
Island Victory is the most powerful anchor handling vessel in the world and achieved the record when laying eight Stevshark Rex drag embedment anchors in preparation for the West Bollsta drilling rig.
These high performance Vryhof anchors are suited to more challenging soil conditions and are installed by embedding them into the seabed. The high force is applied to embed them correctly and also to demonstrate the holding capacity to the 100 year design load.
Over a period of just two days, all eight anchors were installed without any issues at a water depth of around 100 meters, ready for hook-up to the rig.
This area of the North Sea has historically been difficult to work in and has often required anchor resetting or piggy back anchors. The Stevshark Rex is designed to penetrate the seabed quickly, resulting in a shorter drag length during installation. This results in reduced time offshore and the associated cost savings.
The Solveig field is situated in the central part of the North Sea. It is being developed with subsea installations that will be tied into the Edvard Grieg platform. There is also a lot of infrastructure in place in the form of pipelines and cables on the seabed, which means a high degree of precision is required when the anchors are laid.
“We developed the Stevshark Rex to expand the boundaries of cost efficient and robust moorings,” said Leopoldo Bello, Managing Director at Vryhof Anchors. . “We are grateful for the trust Lundin Energy Norway and vessel operator, Island Offshore, have put in the Stevshark Rex anchor for this particular project that allowed the Stevshark Rex to further prove itself.”
