Scotland-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Odfjell Drilling has disclosed the return to work of its 17-year-old semi-submersible, following repairs in the wake of an equipment-handling incident that ended rig activity earlier this year.
Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic rig has resumed operations after spending a total of 106 days off-hire in the aftermath of an equipment-handling incident , which occurred in April 2026, when the blowout preventer (BOP) dropped to the seabed at an approximate depth of 1,100 meters.
“Since the incident and, in addition to the relentless dedication and effort of Odfjell Drilling employees, the company has received widespread support and worked closely with its clients, suppliers, peers and other stakeholders to resolve the issue,” emphasized the rig owner.
While the semi-submersible was off-hire, the offshore drilling firm was able to recover the dropped BOP before returning the rig to the yard to carry out repairs and install the spare blowout preventer it had in stock.
Odfjell Drilling highlights that it has insurance that covers recovery and/or replacement of the dropped BOP as well as costs associated with repair work on the rig itself.
The 2009-built Deepsea Atlantic sixth-generation deepwater and harsh-environment semi-submersible is a dual-derrick, dynamic-positioned unit of enhanced GVA 7500 design.
This semi-submersible is working for Equinor on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).