Ampelmann targets decommissioning sector, gets new North Sea contract

Ampelmann, a provider of offshore access solutions based in the Netherlands, has made another step forward in the field of decommissioning with a recently secured contract in the Southern North Sea.

According to the company’s statement on Monday, 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.

Ampelmann said that the E-type is the largest fully motion compensated system within its portfolio. The company stated that this system has enabled more than 300,000 personnel transfers in the oil & gas industry and can perform in sea states up to 4.5m significant wave height.

Lorenz Nehring, Ampelmann Business Development Manager Aberdeen, said: “We have identified decommissioning as a key sector of interest and it’s great to see that there is an increasing need for fully motion compensated gangway systems, not only in our traditional personnel transfer offering, but also for innovative vessel-based life support solutions.”

It is also worth noting that this is not Ampelmann’s first decommissioning project. In 2017, the company worked together with Boskalis to help prepare for the decommissioning of the Leman platform in the Southern North Sea.