Gibdock has completed its work on the semi-submersible accommodation platform, Etesco Millennium - the first offshore platform project to be undertaken by the yard in almost 15 years.
The semi-sub’s eight-month stay at the yard represented an important milestone for the Gibraltar shiprepair facility, as it continues its campaign to broaden the range of its growing offshore business.
Etesco Millennium arrived at Gibdock in October 2011 and the yard worked closely with the owner, Nazca Floatel BV and shipmanager, Okeanos BV, both of the Netherlands, in carrying out an initial inspection and then more detailed surveys to assess its condition. Subsequently, ultra high pressure work was carried out by subs supplied by the owner, which the yard assisted through the provision of 11,000m3 of staging. This part of the job incorporated extensive blasting and cleaning, including work in the submerged tank areas, and necessary steel repair works to the cross braces on the columns of the rig.
Otto van Voorst, Managing Director of Okeanos, rates Gibdock’s performance highly. He says: “There were some technical challenges with this project but Gibdock overcame them very professionally. Looking after a rig this size is not Gibdock’s every day experience, but they worked well within the remit they were given and in particular showed great flexibility in handling technical steel work issues.”
Gibdock is targeting offshore rig repairs as a significant new area of business and believes it can capitalise on its strategic geographic location in the straits of Gibraltar to win more orders in this sector. “The Etesco Millennium is important as it gave us a chance to showcase our capabilities,” says Richard Beards, Gibdock Commercial Director. “We have now demonstrated our versatile and professional approach to handling big offshore assets. We are always willing to cooperate with the customer and class society, to find cost effective solutions for offshore clients.”
The technical side of the job also brought out the best in the yard, according to John Taylor, Gibdock Production Director. “It was quite a complicated repair job to get the rig into the condition required by the owner. Our steelwork/welding skills were the key to getting this right to the satisfaction of ABS, as the classification society involved, as well as Okeanos.”
“Now that we have shown what we can do, we are optimistic Etesco Millennium will be the first of many rigs to be welcomed here in the coming years,” adds Mr Beards.
A 22,604gt modified semi-submersible rig, Etesco Millennium is now being marketed for a new offshore deployment. Originally built by Marathon LeTourneau in 1976, the rig is 88m long and 66m wide at its maximum point and is consequently one of the biggest structures ever handled by Gibdock.