Able Uk News

Allseas' giant Pioneering Spirit heavy lift vessel has completed its first decommissioning job of summer 2020, with a single-lift removal of Shell UK’s 17,000-tonne Brent Alpha platform from the North Sea. The Pioneering Spirit will now deliver the 44-year old platform to Able UK’s Teesside decommissioning yard in North East England for dismantling and recycling."The removal of Alpha is the first offshore lift to utilize our in-house developed “horseshoes”, connection tools that clamp around pre-installed lift points (bearing brackets) mounted on the upper sections of the jacket’s legs…

The giant 25,000-metric-ton Brent Bravo oil platform topsides arrived at Able Seaton Port in preparation for its dismantling and recycling, said Peter Stephenson, founder and Executive Chairman of Able UK.The Brent Bravo, which stands 410 feet tall and 230 feet wide, is the second platform from the Shell Brent field to be decommissioned at Able Seaton Port—the first, the Brent Delta, arrived in May 2017. Both were transported from northeast of Shetland by the Allseas vessel Pioneering Spirit, one of the largest vessels ever built.After arriving off the North East coast, the Brent Bravo was transferred to a 200-meter-long barge, the Iron Lady, for the final part of the journey to Able Seaton Port where it is currently moored on Quay 6.

SafePilot from Trelleborg’s marine systems operation helped to pilot Allseas’ 200 meter-long barge, Iron Lady, from the Tees Bay to Able UK’s Seaton Port in Hartlepool which transported Shell’s 24,200 ton Brent Delta topside to Able’s facility on May 2, 2017.The Shell-operated Brent field, is located 115 miles east of the Shetland Islands, in 140 meters water depth, and has been in production since 1976. As part of Shell’s complex Brent Decommissioning Project, the Brent Delta topside, was lifted from the concrete legs of the Gravity Base Structure using innovative single lift technology.

Kotug International’s offshore division has assisted Allseas with the transfer and transport of Shell’s Brent Delta topsides after the record-setting removal of the structure by Pioneering Spirit. Kotug was mainly involved in the assistance of the cargo barge Iron Lady during the transfer of the topsides from the Pioneering Spirit to the Iron Lady and the ensuing tow of the barge to the Able UK decommissioning yard in Teesside, Northeast England. After the Pioneering Spirit lifted the Brent Delta platform…

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) recently awarded a contract for the disposal of obsolete ships in the James River Reserve Fleet. Post-Service Remediation Partners (PRP) of New York will be awarded a payment of $14.8 million to remove a total of 15 ships from the James River Reserve Fleet. This is the largest removal of obsolete ships in a single year from the National Defense Reserve Fleet since 1993. "As stewards of the environment, the responsible disposal of obsolete ships is a high priority for the Department of Transportation," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. The PRP award was the result of a negotiated Program Research and Development Announcement (PRDA) proposal that offered the removal of fifteen ships.

The National Defense Reserve Fleet will remain in the James River in southeastern Virginia, after a federal judge blocked the ships from being towed to the U.K. where they are slated to be dismantled. The 1940s-built Canisteo and Caloosahatchoo, were the first of the 13 ships scheduled to leave today for their scrapping destination at Teesside, England where AbleUK would dismantle the ships and dispose of the hazardous materials. The ships, dubbed the Ghost Fleet, contain up to 100 tons of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as well as significant quantities of asbestos and fuel oil. Environmental groups urged Judge Rosemary M. Collyer to block the scheduled towing of the vessels, stating that the agency responsible for the ships failed to follow environmental regulations.

The UK Environment Agency (EA) has issued a modification to the waste management license of Able UK such that the company may engage in the dismantling of U.S. ships at its Teesside Reclamation and Recycling Centre. Able UK submitted an application to the Agency on July 31, 2003 to modify the existing licence for its Teesside Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC) site, to permit an increase in its handling capacity from 24,500 to more than 75,000 tonnes per year. In issuing the licence the Agency has restricted the annual amount handled to 200,000 tonnes. The Agency granted the modification after it had undertaken a thorough assessment reviewing all the potential environmental risks to the Tees Estuary and the surrounding sensitive habitat sites.

The first two of 13 Ghost Fleet ships are leaving Virginia as part of the four ship pilot program as authorized by Congress. The plan to export 13 ships from the James River Reserve Fleet to the AbleUK facility in Teesside, England is environmentally responsible and fiscally sound according to a satement released by MARAD, the agency responsible for the ships. In a ruling last week, a federal judge placed a temporary restraining order, blocking the nine remaining ships from leaving the James River to be towed to England for dismantling. AbleUK, the company who will dismantle ths ships in Teesside, England, has agreed to a contract modification as a result of last week's Temporary Restraining Order, issued by the U.S.

The controversy surrounding the transport and break up of U.S. ships in the U.K. has taken another turn, as the U.K. Environment Agency (EA)said that, on re-examination, it has determined that the license modification that it previously issued to Able UK allowing it to dismantle ships owned by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) was incorrect. Able UK will have to apply for a new license and processing of such an application is lengthy. The MarAd ships may have to be returned to the United States until this matter is resolved, though MarAd issued a release saying that the transit would continue while a solution was sought. (Source: HK Law, Staff Reports)

The U.K. Environment Agency has reiterated the conditions imposed last week on the storage of U.S. naval vessels by Able UK at Hartlepool on Teesside. Modifications made by the Agency to the conditions of the waste management licence held by Able UK apply to all waste ships, from whatever source. The conditions cover the US vessels Canopus and Compass Island, which it has now been decided will also be stored on Teesside alongside the vessels Caloosahatchee and Canisteo which docked earlier in the week.

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) is making available for public review and comment the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for transfer and disposal of approximately nine obsolete vessels from the James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) to the Able UK facility located in Teesside, United Kingdom. Comments on the draft EA should be submitted by March 29, 2004. 69 Fed. Reg. 9422 (February 27, 2004).(HK Law)

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) released a notice stating that the comment period on its draft environmental assessment for transfer of approximately nine obsolete vessels from the James River Reserve Fleet to the Able UK facilities for disposal has been extended until April 9, 2004. The Maritime Administration (MARAD), of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has made available for review and comment to interested governmental and private bodies and individuals the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the transfer of approximately nine obsolete vessels from the James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) to the Able UK facilities for disposal of the vessels. The EA was the subject of a review period from February 29, 2004 to March 29, 2004.

By Joan M. Bondareff and Charles T. In 2001, Congress directed the Maritime Administration (MarAd) to dispose of all obsolete vessels in its inventory by September 30, 2006, and to do so "in the manner that provides the best value to the Government." At present, MarAd has 104 non-retention ships not under contract in three locations around the country-James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia, Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Texas, and Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in California. MarAd is using a variety of ship disposal options, which include domestic and foreign dismantling/recycling to accomplish this directive. Both have been controversial and foreign scrapping has prompted litigation. This article describes what MarAd is doing and what laws are implicated in this mission. The U.S.

Three ships will leave the James River Reserve Fleet this summer, thanks to domestic ship dismantling contracts announced today by U.S. Maritime Administrator Captain William G. Schubert. Marine Metals of Brownsville, TX, has been awarded three contracts valued at $3.1 million to dismantle the American Banker, the Mormacmoon, and the Santa Cruz. All three ships are considered high-priority vessels for dismantling and recycling. "This Administration is working very hard to get these ships out of the James River and on their way to qualified ship breaking yards," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. "We are all very anxious to reduce the number of ships in the fleet," he added.

The scrapping of so-called ghost ships on Teesside looks likely to go ahead, reported the BBC. Able U.K. won a contract with the U.S. government to dismantle up to 13 vessels at its Hartlepool yard, and four ships arrived in late 2003. But delays caused by environmental and planning concerns prevented any work. Hartlepool Council has now removed the final hurdle, by admitting it can no longer block planning permission. The dismantling plans were dogged by debate over the potential impact on the surrounding area and wildlife. Last year, Hartlepool councilors threw out a number of planning applications by Able UK. Now, the authority has said new government planning policies mean it has no chance of successfully challenging an appeal by Able UK to the Planning Inspectorate.

The government may bring an end to the Ghost Ships by recalling them, reports the Northern Echo. Reclamation company Able UK has been battling for more than three years to carry out an 11m deal to scrap 13 former US Navy ships at its site on Teesside. Now MarAd has temporarily halted its ship-scrapping program and ordered a review of the Able UK contract. Source: Northern Echo

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) today announced a contract award for the disposal of obsolete ships in the James River Reserve Fleet. Post-Service Remediation Partners (PRP) of New York will be awarded a payment of $14.8 million to remove a total of 15 ships from the James River Reserve Fleet. This is the largest removal of obsolete ships in a single year from the National Defense Reserve Fleet since 1993. "As stewards of the environment, the responsible disposal of obsolete ships is a high priority for the Department of Transportation," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. The PRP award was the result of a negotiated Program Research and Development Announcement (PRDA) proposal that offered the removal of fifteen ships.