UAE: Blue Water Shipping Wins Challenging Jack-up Rig Transport

Extensive experience and skills are the reasons why Blue Water Shipping has been awarded this complicated rig transport to the Caspian Sea.

Over the years, Blue Water Shipping has become one of the major players within the transport of giant constructions to the Caspian Sea through the Russian river system. Several of the transports handled by Blue Water Shipping have been drilling platforms or Floating-Storage-Offloading (FSO), which are special tank vessels for the storage of oil at sea. Platforms and FSOs are built at ship yards outside of the Caspian Sea, and due to the limited breadth and draught of the river system locks, it is necessary to separate the platforms into smaller sections, and subsequently assemble them upon arrival to the Caspian Sea.

The current transport assignment is a Le Tourneau S116(E) specially designed jack-up rig, which is constructed by Lamprell at the Hamriyah facility in Sharjah (UAE). The rig has been ordered by Eurasia Drilling Company, the largest independent onshore drilling company in Russia. With this new rig, EDC wishes to extend its activities to include offshore drilling in the Caspian Sea.

The transport includes 85,000 m3 of cargo, totaling 8,205 metric ton, of which the heaviest unit weighs in at 1,050 metric ton. The individual units are to be transported on heavy lift vessels from Dubai to the Black Sea for subsequent transfer to river barges and the demanding transport through the river system to the Caspian Sea. Commencing in March 2012, the transport consists of three shipments, and is scheduled to be completed within four months.

“Considerable expertise in the handling of transport and logistics assignments of this type is required. The fact that Blue Water Shipping has been present in the Caspian area since the 90ies and has gained considerable experience and skill with these special transports has no doubt been a decisive factor in us being awarded this contract”, says Claus Laursen, Blue Water Shipping Dubai, who is responsible for contract negotiations and transport implementation in close cooperation with Thomas Bek, Global Manager Oil & Gas at Blue Water Shipping.

For the past 15 years, Blue Water Shipping has delivered transport and logistics solutions to the Caspian Sea – primarily to the oil and gas industry. Blue Water Shipping is one of the first western companies to open offices here, and today, the company has two offices in the Caspian region: Aktau in Kazakhstan and Baku in Azerbaijan.

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Source: Blue Water Shipping, February 13, 2012