Wagenborg takes Ulstein vessel for walk-to-work ops in North Sea

Offshore logistic solutions provider Wagenborg Offshore has been awarded a six-year contract by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) and Shell UK for the provision of a second walk-to-work vessel for operations in the North Sea.

NAM and Shell UK work together in combined business unit on the gas production on the Southern North Sea and the vessel will support their offshore operations, Wagenborg said on Monday.

The so-called ‘Walk-to-Work Emergency Response and Rescue Vessel’ (W2W ERRV) will operate as a standby and support vessel for inspection and maintenance of the unmanned platforms in both Dutch and British waters.

For the provision of the W2W ERRV vessel to NAM and Shell UK, Wagenborg has signed an agreement with Ulstein for the delivery of a standard ‘PX121 Platform Supply Vessel’ (PSV). The PX121 is particularly suited for a conversion to other types of services, such as walk-to-work or Emergency Response and Rescue, without comprising the vessel’s Dynamic Positioning performance.

The Ulstein-owned vessel, ‘Blue Queen’, has been chosen by Wagenborg for this contract. In the Dutch shipyard Royal Niestern Sander in Delfzijl, approximately 80 employees will be working on the conversion of the PX121 from a PSV into a W2W ERRV vessel. The PX121 will be equipped a.o. with an additional accommodation module, motion compensated gangway and motion compensated crane to comply the requirements of NAM-Shell.

The vessel will be converted in 16 weeks and is expected to be delivered to Wagenborg Offshore March 2018. The vessel will start operations in 1Q 2018. It has been repainted in the Wagenborg colors.