Kjetel Rokseth Digre News

During the last few days the deck and hull of the Gjøa platform have been mated together in the fjord outside the Norwegian town of Stord. There were exacting requirements for precision and weather conditions during the operation, which was a success. The four-legged hull rose from the sea in the sea off Stord and spiked the deck of the new North Sea giant, Gjøa. Four guide pins had to meet their respective slots in a deck the size of a football field, with a tolerance of just 1 inch in all directions.

The hull of the North Sea Gjøa platform is on its way to Norway from the Samsung shipyard in South Korea. At the weekend an EU naval force provided a military escort as the hull passed through the notorious Gulf of Aden. The result of 1.7 million hours worked in South Korea, the Gjøa platform hull is now on its way to Stord via the Suez Canal. The long voyage to Stord is estimated to take 40-45 days. At the weekend the hull was transported through the Gulf of Aden, where shipping has recently been subject to attacks by Somali pirates who hijack vessels.