Offshore Access Solutions News

Ampelmann, a Dutch-based firm providing offshore access solutions, will soon be deploying a second gangway to support the construction of the Hywind Tampen floating wind farm in Norway.The first gangway, an E1000 system, was fitted to OSCV Siem Barracuda in early December. Ampelmann said Monday that the second Ampelmann gangway would begin its operations on the wind farm within the next six months.Maichel van Nauta Lemke, Ampelmann’s Business Developer for floating wind. ”We are…

Dutch offshore access solutions provider Ampelmann has launched an electric version of its A-type walk-to-work gangway system. According to Ampelmann, the latest version of the A-type has seen its traditional hydraulic power train replaced by electric regenerative actuation, decreasing its energy use by more than 80%. The gangway requires fewer resources to operate compared to its hydraulic-powered counterpart and is 40% lighter, which makes the system suitable for smaller and lighter vessels and allows for higher vessel speeds.

Danish provider of offshore service vessels A1 Offshore Solutions ApS and lifting and offshore equipment specialist KenzFigee have signed a cooperation agreement to offer clients in the offshore oil, gas and wind industry a cost-efficient and safe Walk-to-Work vessel solution.The pact follows A1 Offshore Solution’s experiences with the KenzFigee 3D Active Motion Compensated (ACM) 26-meter gangway solution installed on board its’ offshore support vessel ‘Notus Express’.Increasing demand for cost efficient, safe and reliable offshore access solutions have been the basis of this joint initiative, said a press release.In addition to the installed walk-to-work system from KenzFigee, the vessel ‘Notus Express’ is fitted with a purpose-built accommodation block in 2018.

Dutch offshore access solutions provider Ampelmann has reached a new milestone: 500,000 safe personnel transfers for BP globally.The  provider of offshore personnel transfer system completed its first transfer for the oil major in Trinidad & Tobago in 2010 and has since enabled another 17 projects in seven countries.“Half a million people transfers in eight years is a key milestone for Ampelmann,” said Gus DeOliveira, Area Sales Lead for the Americas. “We thank BP for their continuous trust and support in jointly making the Oil & Gas industry safer and more efficient.”“The safe delivery of these transfers is a great achievement,” said a BP Marine Representative.

Ampelmann, the global leader in offshore access solutions, has opened its second office in the Middle East in a move to further expand its presence in the region. The office in Dubai (UAE) will be manned by Tim Mulders as Business Developer.Together with the team in the already established office in Doha, Qatar, Mr. Mulders will be strengthening Ampelmann’s position in the regional market.“This newly-manned UAE office will give clients the chance to meet face-to-face with Tim on short notice and at their convenience,” said Jayne Moran, Sales and Business Development Manager for the Middle East & Caspian regions.“Tim has been with the company for the past five years and is an experienced project manager with a good understanding of what clients require.

Offshore access solutions provider Ampelmann said it has won five new contracts for its Walk to Work (W2W) solutions in the offshore wind market over the course of September. These projects will see two A-type and three E-type systems installed on vessels operating in the North Sea.Four of the five contracts have been secured by Ampelmann’s recently opened office in Hamburg, Germany.An Ampelmann E-type system has been installed on the Viking Neptun vessel to enable supporting works at the Merkur wind farm in the German North Sea.

Dutch offshore access solutions provider Ampelmann said it has made another step forward in the field of decommissioning with a recently secured contract in the Southern North Sea.An E-type gangway system has been installed on the Olympic Orion vessel to carry out a two-month campaign for end client Spirit Energy to prepare the Audrey platform for decommissioning.The E-type is the largest fully motion compensated system within the Ampelmann portfolio. Operating globally, it has enabled more than 300…

The oil and gas industry has just 18 months to upgrade critical release hook systems on offshore lifeboats to meet new regulations imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to improve safety at sea. According to the organization, the number of failures during drills and inspections which resulted in casualties or injured crew members has been unacceptably high. Launched in 2011, the IMO regulations state that lifeboat release and retrieval systems must be evaluated and replaced no later than July 1, 2019.

On April 14, 2016, offshore access solutions company Ampelmann and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. signed an agreement to install and operate a winterized version of an Ampelmann’s motion compensated gangway system. This system will be capable of safely and efficiently transferring work crew up to -28 degrees Celsius, therefore supports Sakhalin Energy’s requirements to continue maintenance and increase offshore POB year round in the Sakhalin-2 field. The winterized Ampelmann, project name “Icemann”, will be installed on one of Sakhalin Energy’s new ice breaking support vessels of which delivery is due next year. Ampelmann will engineer and build this bespoke, unique in the world system for its launching customer Sakhalin Energy. The contract duration will be for 10 years.

Ampelmann, a provider of motion compensated offshore access solutions, announced it has achieved a milestone in the operation of its systems; two million safe transfers. The accomplishment was achieved 10 months after the one millionth transfer. The two millionth safe transfer took place on a project for Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP). BSP utilizes multiple Ampelmann A-Type and L-Type systems for the transfer of personnel during operations and maintenance activities. Ampelmann CEO, Jim Craig, said, “2015 marks an important year in Ampelmann’s history as we celebrate two million safe transfers.

DNV GL today published the first industry standard providing guidance on offshore personnel transfer by gangway. DNVGL-ST-0358 will contribute in documenting and securing safe operational performance of offshore gangway solutions and contribute to predictability and transparency within the industry. Offshore gangways are used as a bridge between two vessels or between a fixed object and a floating installation to transfer people, cargo or equipment. For offshore operations, offshore gangways provide a safe and cost effective alternative to personnel transfer by helicopter…

Motion compensated access solutions developer Ampelmann informs it  will provide one of its offshore access solutions to enable ‘walk to work’ for a commissioning campaign on Premier Oil’s Solan field, West of Shetland. The Ampelmann system enables the safe and effective transfer of the workforce in one of the world’s most challenging offshore locations. To meet the demands of working offshore West of Shetland, the multipurpose service vessel the Siem Spearfish is being fitted with an Ampelmann E-type system.