operations with acergy northern europe
and canada on a long-term contract with
statoilhydro, conducting inspection,
maintenance and repair (imr) duties off
the coast of norway.
norwegian crew in norway, but my fears
were immediately dispelled upon arrival as
I was made to feel incredibly welcome and
realised that most norwegians speak better
english than I do! It wasn't long before I met
up with my colleagues from the graduate
engineers development scheme (geds)
working onboard as Field engineers.
and vessel operations on live, fast-moving
projects. one such project which formed
my introduction to working life onboard
was the task of placing a remotely
onto a subsea template.
rov plugged in, providing power and
communication. the romv was then
manoeuvred along its tracks, changing over
the filter modules. It's the only example of
this technique anywhere in the world, so I
am unlikely to see another one.
detectors or birdcages as they are known
by the team. these are housed inside an
elaborate protection structure, which must
first be opened by the vessel's crane to
allow access.
as-found survey while the work class rov
assisted in opening the case structure.
the birdcages, after being unplugged and
time, and after closing and locking the doors
of the structure, it was off to Florø for a quick
demobilisation of the equipment.
short transit between worksites. during my
first week I got a feel for just how fast-paced
work on this vessel can be.
been hugely impressed by the vessel's
capabilities. since I came onboard the client
has complimented the crew several times
on their work, and the platform controlling
the template with the filters has already
requested the Far Saga returns for the next
scheduled maintenance.
team and for their patience with my attempts
at norwegian. tussen tak!
McBride, Graduate
Engineer, was
offered the chance
to work onboard the
Far Saga he seized
the opportunity
with both hands,
keen to experience
operations offshore.