Walk-to-work system for frontier regions
The first system, ordered by Sakhalin Energy last year for use at the Sakhalin 2 field in eastern (non-Arctic) Russia, has been specially tailored to fit the energy company’s requirements and will be installed later this year on board one of the company’s ice-class vessels.
Officially launched in Rotterdam, the latest fully enclosed and insulated motion-compensated system will enable the safe transfer of personnel in extreme temperatures as low as minus 28°C and in sea states with a significant wave height of up to 3.5m. The system rotates through 360 degrees and is controlled from the vessel with flexibility on platform landing locations and directions.
Development of the system came in response to demand for walk-to-work systems suitable for use in frontier regions. The company expects this to be a growing market as such systems will be required to service offshore facilities in remote offshore energy regions including non-Arctic Russia, Norway, Canada and some regions of the Caspian Sea.
Ampelmann CEO Jim Craig said: “The system has been designed from the bottom up, with every single component selected for its ability to operate in these extreme conditions. Given the remoteness of the work, it is crucial that maintenance is minimal and this has been reflected in the design.”