Boskalis Annual Report 2020

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COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the project. Closure of the borders also meant that far more permits than usual were needed to enter Malaysia. Team members had to go into quarantine on board for two weeks before the operation started. Afterwards, everyone had to be isolated in Malaysia for another two weeks before being allowed to travel home. The strict regulations and the lack of clarity about the timing of the operation made the work particularly demanding. “We had planned to start in April but everything was delayed for about four months,” says Goetheer. “Given the imminent monsoon season, we knew the float-over had to take place no later than August. A demanding operation like this can only be executed when wind speeds are low and wave heights are minimal.” LOAD-OUT The CPP-A topside production platform was built at a yard in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, just north of the Singapore border. The load-out – taking the topside on board in a skidding operation – took place in July. This is a precise process in which the topside slides over a pre-prepared track – the skid track – at exactly the right speed. The topside was positioned on board on a dedicated support structure. During the operation, which took twelve hours, there were constant consultations with the people at the yard to make sure that everyone complied precisely with the agreed procedures. The team kept the vessel at exactly the right height with respect to the quay in line with a detailed ballast plan that was accurately executed by the Forte crew. A load-out is always a tense operation but everything went exactly according to plan. FLOAT-OVER After seafastening the cargo, the Forte commenced her two-and-a-half day journey to the Bokor field offshore Borneo. Before the start of the float-over on 3 August, a virtual operation was rehearsed extensively to familiarize the DP crew with the equipment and conditions during the execution phase. Shortly before the actual operation, the entire DP2 system was checked again during a trial, taking into account the weather conditions at that time. “It was genuine precision work,” explains Goetheer. “The Forte has a beam of 43 meters and the topside had to be installed in an opening between two jackets measuring 43 meters and 18 centimeters. So there was less than ten centimeters of space on either side of the vessel.” At the offshore site, the Forte was ballasted so that the topside was raised about one meter above the jacket. Using the information from the survey systems, the vessel then slowly reversed until cameras at the four corners showed that exactly the correct position had been reached. Subsequently the ballast system was used to manipulate the draft exactly and the topside was positioned on the corners of the jackets. “Everyone is tense during an operation like this and, of course, it was a huge relief for the entire team aboard the Forte after this precision job was completed without a hitch,” says Goetheer. “After each project we review any mistakes made during the execution, so we can learn from it for similar assignments in the future. In this case, that review session didn’t take much time because this operation went perfectly. A big compliment to all Boskalis colleagues involved!”

ANNUAL REPORT 2020 – BOSKALIS