Semco Maritime to upgrade accommodation rig for UK gig

Project engineering company Semco Maritime has been chosen to prepare an accommodation rig for a new assignment for Maersk Oil in the UK sector.

Semco Maritime said on Monday it has won the contract to upgrade the Floatel Victory accommodation rig, which is  owned by Floatel International.

Following the upgrade, the rig will sail out to undertake a contract in the British sector of the North Sea for Maersk Oil UK, now part of Total.

According to Semco Maritime’s statement, Floatel Victory is expected to call at its rig yard at Hanøytangen, Bergen, at the beginning of June after expiry of current contract with BP. The rig has been working on the Clair Ridge project located West of Shetland since 2015.

Lars Skov, Senior Vice President at Semco Maritime Rig Projects, said: “This is an important order for Semco Maritime’s rig yard at Hanøytangen. The order also confirms the increased activity in the market of rig upgrades, which started in the second half of 2017. The signs are positive and give rise to optimism in the market.”

Frederik Arnoldsson, Rig Manager of Floatel Victory, said: “We are looking forward to a strong and successful cooperation with Semco Maritime on this project, which is an important milestone before the rig starts operations in the British sector.”

Semco to employ 150 people for upgrade

Floatel Victory is currently operating in the Norwegian sector. Semoc noted that, even while the rig is on the way to Semco Maritime’s rig yard at Hanøytangen, some internal jobs are made on the rig. In this way, the dock time is significantly reduced and the upgrade optimized and streamlined, which is important as the rig’s time for repair is limited, the company said.

Semco also said that a team of 10 people are currently projecting and planning the assignment. In addition, the company expects to employ 150 people for the actual work of upgrading the rig.

The semi-submersible rig, which has living quarters for 560 persons, has 40 single bed cabins and 260 two men cabins.

The rig was built by Keppel FELS in Singapore in 2013 and is designed for operation in areas with hard weather and water depths up to 150 meters.