The Conquest MB-1 crane hoists a 600-ton piece of the Troll Solution jack-up wreckage from the Gulf of Mexico
DECEMBER 7, 2016 — Houston headquartered salvor Ardent final month accomplished the biggest wreck elimination of 2016 — eradicating the Troll Solution jack-up from the seabed of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche
Weighing roughly 7,000 tons, the jack-up tilted in the course of the positioning to hold out upkeep work associated to the Pemex-operated Caan Alf manufacturing platform on May 5. At the
According to Pemex, Mexico’s nationwide oil firm, the accident occurred aboard the Troll Solution jack-up when the rig tilted resulting from a fault in certainly one of its legs. It subsequently collapsed and sank into the seabed in roughly 30m water depth.
After sinking, the Troll Solution got here to relaxation inside two meters from the lively Caan-Alf platform.
Prior to Ardent’s involvement, unsuccessful efforts had been made to refloat and salvage the jack-up.
Ardent was created by the merger of Crowley Maritime’s Titan Salvage and Svitzer Salvage and amongst property deployed to the Troll Solution operation was the Conquest MB-1 crane barge with a most of 1,400 tons lifting capability, which had been beforehand deployed by Titan in assist of the Costa Concordia elimination in Italy.r
Other property deployed by Ardent included a 1,000-ton hydraulic wreck seize from the Netherlands and additional assist vessels from the U.S. and Mexico.
The operation used Ardent’s newly designed Guided Guillotine to dismember the jack-up, as a substitute of reducing with extra standard strategies.
“Traditional methods require either a push or pull-cut with chains or diamond wire. Pull-cuts require tunnels to be bored into the seabed, whereas push-cuts require a large framework to be built around,” stated Ardent Naval Architect Roland De Marco.
“The main hurdles to overcome were, how to best cut the jack-up into sections without fabricating an elaborate structure, and boring holes underneath the jack-up through the seabed was improbable due to obstructions,” stated Shelby Harris, Ardent Americas Operations Director. “We had to apply ingenuity to use our chain cutting techniques on the deck house in a less than conventional method, and the Ardent Guided Guillotine sectioned the hull. The method worked very well.”
Conventional guillotine cutters are restricted to operations above the floor. The Ardent Guided Guillotine can perform underwater with the precision to chop the Troll Solution jack-up into the required carry items.
The Ardent salvage group minimize the deck home into six items with Ardent Chain Pullers, and the vessel’s hull into 31 items with the Ardent Guided Guillotine and subsequently lifted these from the seabed with the Conquest MB-1 crane barge.
“This project showed the excellent integration of staff from both ex-Svitzer and ex-Titan team members, and further serves as a solid foundation for Ardent to continue progressing ahead,” stated Peter Pietka, Ardent CEO.
“We look forward to more challenges and collaboration with our partners in the offshore industry in the near future,” he added.
