Damen develops vessel for decommissioning market

The vessel will specialise in three core areas of the oil and gas decommissioning sector: topside decommissioning, offshore platform removal, and subsea cleaning and removal. The design is based on in-house research carried out by one of Damen's undergraduate interns.
Through the many internships at its yards, the Dutch shipbuilder says it contributes significantly to the maritime education system. One position was recently offered to Justin Rietveld, who is studying maritime technology at the Rotterdam Mainport University of Applied Sciences. His brief was to investigate the potential niche markets for new vessel designs in the oil and gas decommissioning sector.
The vessel developed by Rietveld has a monohull design and split stern, a characteristic that will come into play during platform removal operations.
“This ship will be able to reverse up to a jacket, where it will be ballasted to sink below the platform. Upon deballasting, the vessel will rise up to pick up the platform,” he explained.
According to preliminary estimates, the vessel will be able to decommission fixed platforms weighing up to 1,600 tonnes, i.e. over half of the fixed platforms located in the North Sea.
To give maximum flexibility to clients, the concept design includes modular add-ons in the event the vessel won't be active solely in the decommissioning market. The add-ons to the existing design include the (temporary) installation of a crane or a helideck. Functionality can be further boosted with the addition of accommodation modules to increase personnel capacity.
Another option will be the addition of a temporary platform to create a solid stern. The subsequent increase in deck capacity could be used for transporting and installing monopiles and foundations for the offshore wind industry, Damen says.