OffshoreEngineer 2023 07

THE FUTURE OF OFFSHORE ENERGY & TECHNOLOGY
JULY/AUGUST 2023 | OEDIGITAL.COM | VOL. 48, NO. 4
For Offshore Wind,

“You’re Gonna Need
a Bigger Crane …”
Safety & Mitigating the Risk

of Dropped Objects
As Dayrates Rise, Where are

the New Rig Orders?
Installation Vessel Interview:

Paul Johnson, Transocean
JULY/AUGUST 2023
WWW.OEDIGITAL.COM
VOL. 48 / NO. 4
F E A T U R E S
38
Photo by Van Oord (File Image)
10
Rig Dayrates Have Risen ...
28
The Art & Engineering of Converting a Drillship
So Where are the New Rig Orders? into an Offshore Wind Installation Vessel
Much has been written in recent months about the increase in In April 2023, Transocean executed a non-binding MOU with En-
offshore rig utilization and dayrates. With some key segments of eti, and MOU with a plan to form a joint venture company that will
the fleet at 95% utilization or higher, dayrates for recent fixtures engage in offshore wind foundation installation activities. The plan, if
for non-harsh environment jackups have surpassed $150,000, enacted, would see some of Transocean’s drilling vessels converted into
while floating rigs have been secured for contracts at or above wind turbine foundation installation vessels. Paul Johnson, VP, Tech-
$475,000. Right on cue, the talk of new rig orders has surfaced, nical Services, Transocean, shares an update with Offshore Engineer.
but will it actually happen? By OE Staff
By Terry Childs
38
24 “You’re gonna need a bigger crane...”
Dropped Objects Offshore: Offshore wind turbines are reaching new heights both literally
Dynamic Risks Call for Dynamic Thinking (meters), and figuratively (megawatts). As the demand for larger
Dropped objects are a leading cause of incidents offshore, and turbines surges, so do the challenges faced by offshore instal-
the risks are many. lation contractors, which need to come up with bigger vessels,
By Wendy Laursen and, consequentially, bigger cranes.
By Bartolomej Tomic
Cover photo: Jan De Nul
2 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

Sponsored content
6 Extend Safety Valve Lifespan
Combination of Rupture Disc
and Safety Valve offers
Various Opportunities 10
©Kalyakan/AdobeStock
14 The Resurgence Of The OSV Industry:
A Journey From Trough To Triumph
By Ina Golikja, Equity and credit analyst in the
Research team at Fearnley Securities
16 Anchor Handler Construction:

What To Expect As Floating Wind
Picks Up
By Philip Lewis, Director of Research,
Intelatus Global Partners
24
20 It’s (Really) Not Easy Being
Stopdrop Tooling / Shutterstock
Green (Hydrogen)
New projects prove the ability to generate
green hydrogen offshore. But is it cost-effective?
By OE Staff
32 Mega Machines: JOIDES Resolution

When it comes to deep drillers, JOIDES
Resolution takes the cake, embarking on
Expedition 395 to understand the impacts of
mantle plumes on deep ocean currents.
By Celia Konowe
44 “Game-Changing” CSOV In Norway 28

©aerial-drone/AdobeStock
46 Tech File: HexDefence Scour

Protection For Offshore Wind
By Greg Trauthwein
32
DEPARTMENTS
4 Editor’s Letter
5 Authors in this Edition
50 By the Numbers: Rigs
51 Sector in Focus: Scandinavia
© Claudio Robustelli Test, IODP JRSO
july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 3

EDITOR’S LETTER
Safety is job 1
Vol. 48 No. 4
ISSN 0305-876x USPS# 017-058
The stressed importance of safety, particularly from the oil majors,
is legendary in the offshore sector, and this month Wendy Laursen 118 East 25th Street,
takes a deep dive into the risk of dropped objects, which is a leading New York, NY 10010
cause of incidents offshore. Whether you operate in the North Sea, tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271
the Gulf of Mexico, Africa or Asia, there are often prolonged periods www.OEDigital.com
of harsh environmental conditions at all locations, conditions that can
EDITORIAL
accelerate corrosion and push corroded systems to failure. While there is GREGORY R. TRAUTHWEIN
no pattern, per se, the top causes of dropped objects include inadequate Editor & Publisher
risk assessment, human factors, inadequate procedures, failed fixtures and BARTOLOMEJ TOMIC
fittings, poor housekeeping, collisions, and snagging. Managing Editor
[email protected]
The matter of corrosion and degradation of cranes in the offshore en-
vironment is of particular interest, due to the massive loads they are asked ERIC HAUN
[email protected]
to handle seamlessly, efficiently, safely, day in and day out.
This is relevant too in the burgeoning offshore wind sector, as Bar- ELAINE MASLIN, Aberdeen
[email protected]
tolomej Tomic reports this month on the rapidly expanding size of tur-
bines and it’s resulting impact on the size and capability of cranes. Off- WILLIAM STOICHEVSKI, Oslo
[email protected]
shore wind turbines are reaching new heights both literally (meters), and
PRODUCTION / GRAPHIC DESIGN
figuratively (MW), and as the demand for larger turbines surges, so do the NICOLE VENTIMIGLIA
challenges faced by offshore installation contractors, which need to come [email protected]
up with bigger vessels, and, consequentially, bigger cranes. SALES
Our feature focus this month is Huisman’s Product Director of TERRY BREESE, VP Sales
+1 (561) 732-1185 • [email protected]
Cranes, Cees van Veluw, who discusses how simultaneous growth in safe
working load, hook height and boom length are impacting the product GARY LEWIS, Panama
(516) 441-7258 • [email protected]
line-up at Huisman and translating to the growing global fleet of vessels
to carry them.
CORPORATE STAFF
CEO
JOHN O’MALLEY
[email protected]
Check out the
President & COO
2023 Media GREGORY R. TRAUTHWEIN
Kit via the QR [email protected]
Code Below IT Director
VLADIMIR BIBIK
Public Relations
MARK O’MALLEY
[email protected]
Accounting
ESTHER ROTHENBERGER
Gregory R. Trauthwein [email protected]
Editor & Publisher Circulation

KATHLEEN HICKEY
[email protected] [email protected]
m: +1-516.810.7405
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JULY/AUGUST 2023
WWW.OEDIGITAL.COM
VOL. 48 / NO. 4
O e W r i t e r s
Terry Childs is the Head of RigLogix for Westwood Global Energy

Group. He has over 35 years of experience tracking and writing
about the offshore rig market. He started his career in 1981
at IHS legacy company Offshore Data Services, followed by a
period marketing rigs for ENSCO in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2009,
he returned to the market intelligence side of the business, with
stints at RigData and DrillingInfo, before landing at Rigzone in
December 2014. He became Director of the Data Services group
in February 2016 and served in that capacity until March of 2018,
when Westwood Global Energy Group purchased the Data Services
Childs division of Rigzone. Laursen
Ina Golikja is an equity and credit analyst in the Research team

at Fearnley Securities. She’s been covering the offshore supply
vessel (OSV) space since May 2022, focusing both on Norwegian
and global players.
Celia Konowe is from Reston, Virginia, recently graduating from

the University of Rochester with a degree in environmental studies.
She has study abroad experience in France and Ecuador, including
the Universidad de San Francisco Quito’s GAIAS (Galápagos
Institute for the Arts and Sciences) program. Currently, she is
pursuing her master of environmental studies degree at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Golikja Lewis
Wendy Laursen has 20 years of experience as a journalist. In that
time, she has written news and features for a range of maritime,
engineering and science publications. She has completed a Master
of Science research degree in marine ecology as well as diplomas
in journalism, communication and subediting.
Philip Lewis is Director Research at Intelatus Global Partners. He

has extensive market analysis and strategic planning experience
in the global energy, maritime and offshore oil and gas sectors.
Intelatus Global Partners has been formed from the merger of
International Maritime Associates and World Energy Reports.
Bartolomej Tomic is managing editor of Offshore Engineer. He has,

Konowe since 2010, written hundreds of articles covering the international Tomić
offshore industry. The coverage includes E&P, Drilling, Seismic,
interviews with oil and gas professionals, and reporting from
industry events.

SPONSORED CONTENT SAFETY VALVES
Extend Safety Valve Lifespan

Combination Of Rupture
Disc And Safety Valve Offers
Various Opportunities
F
or many years emissions were an unavoidable con- leak-tight and they struggle to meet the exacting require-
sequence of industrial development. An increase ments of the legislators. An alternative solution is needed.
in consciousness of environmental issues com- Although rupture discs have been around for many de-
bined with subsequent legislation means that ma- cades, they are often considered only as secondary relief.
jor Oil and Gas companies are under pressure to cut their To be used where there is a possibility that the safety valve
greenhouse gas emissions and several have responded by may fail. There is a lack of understanding amongst engi-
setting reduction targets over the coming decades. neers in industry and a number of myths surrounding the
There are several ways in which operators can work to- use of rupture discs.
wards emissions reductions and our focus is on the impact A rupture disc is a non-reclosing device and therefore
the use of various safety devices can have on this target. must be completely replaced when there is an activation.
The first point of consideration in this regard should Nuisance downtime leads many operators to associate
be the safety valves in use. Valves are an obvious place to rupture discs as being problematic whereas if a disc is
start as no valve is 100% leak-tight, and this decreases rupturing frequently there is likely a problem with the
every time there is an activation and the valve re-seats. process. It is still unrecognized by many operators that
In the building of new plants, it is a fairly simple solu- when the disc performs correctly it is not the problem,
tion to specify within the design of the plant a valve with but the solution.
a lower leak rate. However, existing plants are looking How can a rupture disc help to get improved perfor-
at substantial investments to replace older designs with mance from a safety valve? Rupture discs are 100% leak-
newer technologies. Not a viable economical solution in tight. By installing a rupture disc in front of a safety valve
most cases. you get double protection and a solution which can meet
While there have been significant increases in the capabil- emission requirements. There is no more leakage through
ities of safety valves, they are still not the ideal product when the safety valve in normal operation and where there is
considering future net zero targets. No safety valve is 100% an over-pressure activation, the valve reseats to seal the

Fig. 1: Rupture disc for isolating safety valves
process once the pressure is vented. maintenance requirements. There is also the possibility
The belief that this arrangement adds more cost into a of reducing CAPAX costs by sourcing a rupture disc and
project has been proven to be false, in fact the opposite is holder in an exotic material and a standard safety valve.
the case. A correctly engineered rupture disc will help low- The costs of a discs and holder are usually significantly
er operating costs and increase the up-time for any plant. lower than having to source a high specification safety
In processes where there is a high concentration of valve which is compatible with the process media.
corrosive media, increased temperatures and an operat- The protection of safety valves with rupture discs has
ing pressure close to the safety valve set pressure, safety become increasingly more common in recent years across
valves are pushed to their limits. Poor performance is several industries. However, many operators miss the op-
common-place. High maintenance costs are needed to portunity to fully protect the safety valve by also isolating
keep the valve as close to original specifications as pos- the valve from potential corrosion issues on the outlet of
sible, increased downtime to the production for routine the valve.
valve servicing and/or repairs and higher manpower costs In many cases, the valve outlet is not a separate dis-
to cover the work scopes. charge line to but is connected to other parts of the plant
The solution of the safety valve manufacturers is a via a manifold which allows process gases/vapor to enter
higher specification valve, more exotic materials with the outlet of the valve. If there is a risk that the process
higher capex costs as well as increased cost of spares to media can damage the valve via the inlet, this is also the
maintain the valves. If you consider a typical petrochemi- case downstream.
cal plant with several hundred safety valves the capital A rupture disc can also be used to isolate the safety
expenditure is significant. valve outlet and prevent any contact with the process me-
A rupture disc fitted upstream of the safety valve com- dia. The rupture disc will also block any back pressure
pletely isolates the valve from the process. This protects from entering the safety valve and remove those concerns
the safety valve from the process which in turn reduces during valve selection.

SPONSORED CONTENT SAFETY VALVES
With burst sensors installed both upstream and down-

stream rupture discs can be monitored and connected
back to the control room for system reporting across the
plant, so operators know instantly which valves and discs
are in a green or red state.
Another myth surrounding rupture discs is that they
can leak. If the disc is to be installed as the primary safe-
ty device, that’s to say, without a safety valve behind it,
this can be a concern for operators looking to reduce
emissions. The majority of leakages via rupture discs
are caused by corrosion or damage during installation
by mishandling or incorrect torquing. Rupture Disc
technology has improved significantly over the years to
ensure that damages caused by corrosion or incorrect
handling are all but eliminated. Today’s modern rupture
discs no longer use mechanical scoring techniques dur-
ing manufacturing which can lead to works hardening
and corrosion over time. Advanced manufacturing tech-
nologies have resulted in robust rupture discs which are
no longer sensitive to torque and virtually immune to
damage during installation. Most spurious failures from
rupture discs can be avoided by working together with
the disc manufacturer to select the ideal rupture disc for
the process conditions.
Overall, rupture discs can be used as a cost-effective
and efficient way to create a leak-tight process and reduce
emissions whether on their own or in combination with
a safety valve.
About REMBE –
the REMBE Alliance Introduces Itself
Most people associate REMBE with REMBE GmbH
Safety+Control, the specialist for explosion safety and
explosion venting worldwide. The company offers cus-
tomers cross-industry safety concepts for plants and
equipment. All products are manufactured in Germany
and meet the requirements of national and international
regulations. REMBE customers include market leaders in
various industries, including the food, timber, chemical
and pharmaceutical industries.
The company’s engineering expertise is based on 50
years of application and project experience. As an in-
dependent, owner-managed family business, REMBE
Fig. 2: Ideal combination – combines expertise with the highest quality standards
safety valve and rupture disc and is involved in various specialist committees world-

wide. Short coordination paths allow for quick reactions
and customer-specific solutions for all applications, from REMBE® GmbH Safety+Control
standard products to high-tech special designs.
In addition to REMBE GmbH Safety+Control (www. Gallbergweg 21
rembe.de) with approx. 340 employees worldwide, head- 59929 Brilon, Deutschland
quartered in Brilon (Hochsauerland, Germany), and
numerous subsidiaries worldwide (Italy, Finland, Brazil, T: +49 2961 7405-0
USA, China, Dubai, Singapore, South Africa, Japan),
four other companies operate under the REMBE um- [email protected]
brella brand:
• REMBE Research+Technology Center GmbH
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• REMBE Advanced Services+Solutions GmbH
(www.rembe-services.de)
• REMBE Kersting GmbH (www.rembe-kersting.de)
• REMBE FibreForce GmbH (www.argusline.de)

MARKETS OFFSHORE DRILLING RIGS
©Kalyakan/AdobeStock
Rig Dayrates Have Risen,

So Where Are The
New Rig Orders?
Much has been written in recent months about the increase in offshore
rig utilization and dayrates. With some key segments of the fleet at
95% utilization or higher, dayrates for recent fixtures for non-harsh
environment jackups have surpassed $150,000, while floating rigs
have been secured for contracts at or above $475,000. Right on cue,
the talk of new rig orders has surfaced, but will it actually happen?
Terry Childs, Head of RigLogix, Westwood Global Energy Group

A
lot has happened since the last newbuilding table reasons not to build. There are still 15 drillships and
cycle took place, and there are several reasons seven semis, many from the last newbuild cycle, waiting
why Westwood believes new rig construction in various yards to be delivered (although three of the 22
will not occur anytime soon. units have contracts in place). Westwood believes as many
Assuming a rig owner can obtain financing, there are as eight units may never be delivered, which leaves 11 new-
far fewer shipyards that would entertain building a new builds – seven drillships and four semis – available for rig
rig. Many have exited the business or undergone yard con- owners to absorb into their fleets.
solidation. As one drilling contractor put it, the yards are The investment required to get these units will vary, but
busy “building vessels they can actually get paid for,” refer- the base cost is thought to be a minimum of $100-110
ring to floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) million (plus $250-300 million to buy the rig if necessary).
and other non-drilling units. In addition, down payment With most of these units in Southeast Asia, a mobiliza-
terms, which had been as little as 2% in the last cycle, tion fee would be as much as $35-50 million plus other
would be significantly higher now. upgrades necessary for a specific operator and/or region,
Secondly, there are still undelivered rigs in yards that adding another $30 million to the cost. So, excluding pur-
were ordered in the last newbuilding period. While mostly chase price, an all-in cost of around $200 million would be
completed, these “new” rigs require a substantial amount expected. It is estimated to take 12-14 months of yard time
of capital and shipyard time. Nevertheless, there is still in- to get one of these rigs out.
ventory available, another reason not to build now. Also There are also 30 cold-stacked floating rigs – 13 drill-
related to excess inventory, several cold-stacked units could ships and 17 semis. We believe as many as ten are being
undergo reactivation, providing rig owners with a cheaper marketed for drilling programs while a few will likely
and faster source for additional rigs. be scrapped. Between the stranded newbuilds and cold
Finally, there are more M&A deals that can be done. As stacked units, rig owners have access to 30-35 units.
seen in recent transactions, deals can be structured that do The cost to reactivate one of these rigs will vary depend-
not require a lot of cash, making it far cheaper and faster to ing on the scope of work done. For example, to reactivate
acquire a company and its assets versus building a new rig. a cold stacked drillship in Las Palmas, the base cost is be-
lieved to be $85-90 million alone, plus mobilization fees
New Floating Rigs Less Likely and additional upgrades. Shipyard time is believed to be
The prospect of building a new drillship or semi-sub- around one year for reactivation.
mersible (semi) is less likely than jack-ups. Even with drill- A rig owner would need a minimum five-year initial
ship dayrates inching closer to the magical $500,000 mark, term to even consider building a new unit and currently,
the numbers simply do not add up at the present time. there are just a handful of regions where operators have
According to rig owner estimates, the all-in cost to build programs that could offer that.
a new drillship would be over $1 billion. Among the potential landing spots would be Brazil and
Assuming 90-95% utilization, the dayrate needed for a Africa. TotalEnergies recently issued a tender for two drill-
standard 12-15% return on investment (ROI) would be ships to work under 10-year contracts with rumors of two
$650-700,000 for the useful life of the rig (~25 years). existing newbuilds competing for that work. The US Gulf of
Build time would be around three years. Mexico has taken on two newbuild drillships this year and
In addition to the economic factors, there are other no- last, but it seems unlikely the region could take on another.

The bottom line is that while it is conceivable that some 2013, have been mostly completed but would need shipyard
new floating rig orders could eventually take place, a sus- time to finish construction and undergo acceptance testing.
tained period of significantly higher dayrates would be From 2010 to July 2023, the jack-up fleet increased by a
needed, and that, if it happens, is still a few years away. net of 45 rigs, with 245 deliveries and 200 units removed.
Over the 14-year period, that is an average of three rigs per
Jack-ups more Probable year, probably not as much as one might think. And with
Any new rig orders will likely be for jack-ups. Like float- the current cold stacked numbers versus the number of
ing rigs, multi-year contracts have been awarded, with rigs still under construction, the fleet size will decline on
some in the Middle East as long as 15 years. its current path.
Dayrates have nearly doubled in the past year alone and Looking at the cold stacked fleet, 56 are available, but
reached as high as $160,000 in some areas. Two of the larg- closer inspection shows the number available for reactiva-
est jack-up rig owners, Borr Drilling and Shelf Drilling, say tion is much lower. Six of the units have been stacked for
there is not enough equipment to fulfill future demand. over ten years, making it highly unlikely they would ever
What about the cost to build a new jackup? It is estimat- work again.
ed to be in the $250-300 million range for a 400ft-rated After removing units that, due to design, water depth
rig, depending on yard location. rating, age etc., would not likely be brought back into ser-
Delivery time is currently thought to be 2-2.5 years. Ac- vice, Westwood believes there are fewer than 15-20 units
cording to jack-up owners, an acceptable 15% ROI for a as candidates to return to the fleet.
newbuild with 90-95% utilization would require a dayrate of The cost to reactivate a stranded newbuild or cold
$200,000-$230,000 over the useful life (~25 years) of the rig. stacked jack-up varies depending on rig condition, age,
In the current newbuild inventory, there are 20 undeliv- time idle and level of preservation done prior to the rig
ered jackups, three of which have contracts, and one has a going idle.
pending sale. The remaining 16 units, ordered as early as Some recent reactivations have been completed for just

under $20 million but estimates for other rigs pending re- Finally, ARO Drilling must be mentioned. In 2018,
activation are reported to be as much as $40 million. Re- the company agreed to supply Saudi Aramco with 20 new
quired reactivation time is six to nine months, depending jack-ups over a 10-year period.
on yard availability. The first two were ordered in 2020, but none since. De-
Despite the high price tag, it is not out of the question livery of those was scheduled for 2022 but slipped into this
that some jack-ups will eventually be ordered. year after delayed completion of a new shipyard in Saudi
Of the current 438 marketed jack-ups in the global fleet, Arabia to build the rigs.
100 are 40 years of age or more, 23% of the fleet. Assuming the remaining 18 rigs are ordered, it raises the
While fewer than 10 of the 100 are idle, it is doubtful question of whether there would be a need for additional
that kind of usage can be sustained for many more years. newbuilds.
Rumors afoot indicate operator interest in newbuilds. A Westwood believes the reasons not to build a new rig
few super majors, citing current climbing rig costs, could outweigh the reasons to build at present.
reportedly offer initial contract terms that might entice rig Although rig owners have historically not been known
owners to dip their toes in new construction. for their discipline, this time is different, or at least it ap-
In addition, at least three jack-ups that previously retired pears to be. No speculative rig reactivations have been car-
with the intent of converting to wind farm installation ves- ried out and there does not seem to be any appetite to
sels, will reportedly re-enter the fleet as drilling units. repeat the overbuilding mistakes of the past.

MARKETS OFFSHORE SUPPORT VESSELS
©Arlid/AdobeStock
The Resurgence Of
The OSV Industry:
A Journey From
Trough To Triumph
The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a

tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough
that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the
tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a
strong and much-awaited revival.
By Ina Golikja, Equity and credit analyst in the Research team at Fearnley Securities

MARKETS OFFSHORE SUPPORT VESSELS
W
hile long seen as a derelict industry by inves- The market deterioration from 2015 onwards has led
tors, improving market conditions and a num- to historically low orderbook, while long-term layups and
ber of corporate activities have recaptured in- scrapping of vessels have combined resulted in a finite and
vestors’ attention for the OSV space again. shrinking total fleet.
Standard Supply, a Standard ETC spin-off, listed on
Euronext Growth Oslo in June 2022 as a pure platform Most Old Units Not Coming Back
supply vessel (PSV) player and has been opportunistically Although reactivations have provided some relief to the
active in the S&P market since. tight market, the majority of the cold-stacked units has
Among historical names, DOF ASA underwent bank- been out of the market for close to ten years and/or are
ruptcy in November 2022 after long and troubled negotia- more than 20 years old, meaning it is unlikely for those
tions with its creditors, and DOF Group was listed in June units to return back to work, in our view.
2023 as the new holding company. The IPO was largely Meanwhile, newbuilds are at the moment capped by
oversubscribed and successfully closed after DOF rejected limited financing, rising building costs, longer lead time at
an offer from Subsea7. yards, and uncertainty over the prevailing fuel technology.
Tidewater further strengthened its position as the OSV The continued uptick in dayrates and replacement costs
giant through the acquisition of 50 vessels from Swire Pa- has translated into higher secondhand asset values.
cific Offshore in March 2022, and more recently with the As an example, the 2012-built 680m2 PSV Standard
purchase of 37 large and mid-sized vessels from Solstad Duke was recently sold for USD 11m after being pur-
Offshore. Meanwhile, share performance for several of the chased for USD 7m (including reactivation) a year be-
names has been stellar, led by Tidewater – up c. 180% last fore. Looking at larger transactions, Tidewater benefitted
12 months. from the distressed sale of Solstad Offshore PSV fleet of
However, many OSV players are still battling with high 37 large-and-mid PSV (10 years avg, age), priced at USD
level of indebtedness, legacy of the newbuild order boom 16m per vessel vs our estimated fair value of USD 30m for
back in 2014 – when optimism for future increase in de- large and modern tonnage.
mand was pervasive, and financing was both available and As the sector keeps heading towards full recovery, we see
affordable – just to be followed by the oil price crash and capital discipline to prevail among OSV owners, focusing
the consequent downturn. on debt reduction and returning value to shareholders.
The COVID-19 outbreak interrupted the momentum While newbuilds are not on the table today, several play-
building in 2019, but the OSV market came back in full ers have commented on being open to the possibility of
swing in 2022, supported by increased global E&P spend- ordering new vessels if supported by multi-year term con-
ing and revitalized offshore activity. Ship owners have since tracts at dayrates significantly higher than current levels.
experienced an overall improvement in earnings, driven by Though, limited yard capacity and financial con-
an increase in average dayrates and utilization achieved straints will limit newbuild influx in the short term as
throughout all vessel segments. we see it. Meanwhile, we expect more corporate activities
going forward as owners streamline their fleets and focus
Dayrates Reach Peak Levels on core segments.
Dayrates for larger and in high-demand tonnage have In conclusion, the offshore supply vessel industry has
now reached previous peak levels, with +20k BHP AHTS traversed a challenging path from a decade-long trough to
trading around USD 45k/day, while PSVs with 4,000+ a triumphant resurgence.
dwt are eyeing USD 35k/day globally, with certain regions The firming supply-demand balance has granted vessel
closing on USD 40k/day. owners increased bargaining power, resulting in improved
The subsea and offshore construction market is sold out terms and increased profitability.
and projected to reach USD 100k/d in the next years for While global recession risk and rising cost of capital fol-
larger tonnage (>400t SWL CON). lowing interest rate hikes from central banks, represent a
As the demand for OSV vessels has been recovering, the near-term macro risk, the underlying fundamentals – fur-
supply side of the market has undergone a profound trans- ther helped by the growing offshore wind industry – sup-
formation over the past decade. port a long-term-upcycle for vessel owners, in our view.

RENEWABLE ENERGY FLOATING WIND Damen
Several market players have unveiled

new vessel designs tailored to the
floating offshore wind market. Damen
says its FLOW-SV is specifically
designed to install ground tackles for
floating offshore wind projects.
Anchor Handler Construction:

What To Expect As
Floating Wind Picks Up
A fleet of newbuild specialized anchor handlers will be required
to help build up the emerging floating offshore wind industry.
But since the industry is still in its early days, many unknowns
have made it difficult for shipyards and their partners to gear up
to build this fleet. This article explores complex market demand
and technical drivers that help give a better understanding of
anchor handler requirements for floating offshore wind.
By Philip Lewis, Research Director of Intelatus Global Partners

RENEWABLE ENERGY FLOATING WIND
Maersk Supply Service

Maersk Supply Service used the Maersk Mariner to install
six mooring lines (hybrid lines of chain and fiber rope) and
six drag anchors for the DemoSATH floating wind project.
F
loating wind is an emerging technology currently 250 tonnes and a clear back deck of over 800 square me-
being tested in small scale demonstration and pi- ters. The capabilities of existing subsea construction vessels
lot projects; at the end of 2022, global floating with AHC cranes of 250 tonnes and above and large clear
wind commissioned capacity was less than 200 back decks are also suitable for certain pre-lay operations.
megawatts (MW). By 2030, close to 6.5 gigawatts (GW) But existing oil and gas market demand and the techni-
of commercial scale wind farms are planned to be com- cal requirements of floating wind projects is unlikely to be
missioned, the majority in Europe and the Asia Pacific met by these existing vessels.
Region. Then, 2030-2035 will see a period a high com- The above capacity projection of 63 GW by 2035 trans-
missioning activity as the U.S. joins established and also lates to the installation of over 5,000 floating turbines, more
new European and Asia Pacific markets. Floating installed than 20,000 anchors and over to 30,000 mooring lines.
capacity is forecast to reach around 63 GW by 2035. Simply put, there will be a large demand for vessels in
Whereas floating wind projects will leverage experiences the anchor handling segment, which has seen limited re-
from the bottom-fixed industry, there will also be many cent newbuilding activity due to poor market conditions
differences, particularly in how floating turbines are con- in the core oil and gas sector; only six large anchor handlers
structed and installed. A major difference is the need for have been delivered in the last five years. Newbuilding
large anchor handlers and large subsea construction vessels prices for five of these large anchor handlers were around
to pre-install mooring systems designed to maintain the $80-85 million at the time ordering—price levels that are
position of the floating wind turbines, to tow the struc- not likely to be achieved in today’s building market. Since
tures from port and to hook-up and tension the floating then, there has been limited activity to guide price esti-
turbines to the pre-installed moorings. Based on a detailed mates, but we have seen costs rise for vessel types across the
review of technical drivers, Intelatus identifies the optimal board. A capital cost estimate of at least $100 million for a
size of existing anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) ves- similar vessel seems reasonable.
sels for mooring pre-lay as having a bollard pull of at least Subsea construction vessel supply is also likely to be

Jan Arne Wold / Equinor
Anchor handlers connect to first

Hywind Tampen turbine to be towed
to field in the Norwegian North Sea.
stretched by high demand from oil and gas projects. ing flexible solutions to developers and project engineers
As a result of market conditions, our forecast identifies a who have a variety of floating wind technologies, anchors
shortage of large anchor handler and subsea construction and mooring line concepts to consider.
vessels toward the end of the decade. As demand in float- Several market players are known to be developing float-
ing wind continues to grow, available supply is expected ing wind specific vessel concepts that are evolutions of the
to be reduced further as activity continues to pick up in more traditional designs. Based on our analysis of floating
deepwater oil and gas—a sector that drives demand for wind project requirements, we expect the next generation
large anchor handlers and subsea construction vessels. anchor handlers to feature:
So, what do shipbuilders and their supporting partners
need to plan for? • High bollard pull, anchor handlining frame and
With around 100 floating wind design concepts at var- a large AHC crane
ied levels of technical maturity, multiple anchor types to • Large back deck
accommodate and three principle mooring line materials • Multiple large winch drums
(chain, wire, and synthetic rope), there is no one single im- • Large chain lockers
mediate dominant project solution, which drives the need • Work class ROVs
for flexible installation vessels. • Flexibility to support different tensioning options
Our analysis indicates that the most efficient installa- • Low or zero emissions operations, battery
tion vessels for floating wind projects will not necessarily energy storage systems, etc.
be classic large anchor handler or subsea construction ves- • Embedded digitalization
sels, but rather hybrid anchor handlers capable of provid-

We anticipate such vessels to cost significantly more equity vehicles suffered heavy losses from OSV investments.
than existing large anchor handler designs, with reported Finance is still available from new market entrants and alter-
estimates in the range of $175-200 million. Such invest- native capital providers. However, the appetite for financing
ment requires high day rates and long-term charter com- new vessels comes with many restrictions.
mitments, which are generally not available today. One thing is certain: shipbuilders will need answers
And then there are questions about economics as devel- (and commitments) sooner rather than later if the float-
opers face increasing pressure to keep rising project costs at ing wind industry hopes to minimize the severity of pro-
bay. Many of the builders capable of producing high-spec jected vessel shortages.
anchor handlers—including yards in China, Norway and
Singapore—and their financial partners continue to deal
with the damage of low utilization and newbuilding activ-
ity in the OSV segment post 2014.
Many owners experienced financial difficulties and were Intelatus Global Partners has recently published
unable to pay down debts accumulated during newbuild ex- a floating wind installation vessel forecast report,
pansion programs initiated between 2008 and 2013, while available here: https://intelatus.com/Business/
FloatingWindInstallationVessels. For more information
many of the traditional shipping banks that funded the new-
or to inquire about the report, contact Philip Lewis at
building boom took significant impairments, which have left [email protected].
them cautious about lending to OSV projects. Many private

TECH FEATURE GREEN HYDROGEN
Lhyfe
It’s (Really) Not Easy Be

While the jury is still out on maritime ‘fuel of the future’, green
hydrogen is seen globally as a particularly invaluable part to the
process – as well as a potential fuel – particularly in the fight to
decarbonize heavy and long-haul transport industries like shipping.
While the promise is real, the challenges are many, including the
high cost of renewable energy sources themselves, the energy-
intensive electrolysis process, and the development of infrastructure.
Similar to other giant strides in technology, the mass production of
green hydrogen will take a broad mix of political will (ie. funding),
corporate nerve, and individual innovation.

CrossWind
Hollandse Kust Noord

offshore wind farm
eing Green (Hydrogen)

Going Offshore bent on meeting and beating the challenges.
Producing green hydrogen in the offshore environment Earlier this summer, it announced a “world first”: Its Se-
presents a number of advantages, led by the abundance alhyfe pilot project has started producing green hydrogen
of renewable energy (read integration into the rapidly ex- in the Atlantic Ocean, 20 km off Le Croisic, France, and is
panding offshore wind grids globally) to generate electric- now connected with the SEM-REV power hub.
ity to run the power-hungry electrolysis process. In addi- "As of June 20, 2023, the platform began producing its
tion, readily abundant seawater can be used to cool the first kilos of offshore hydrogen, marking a decisive mile-
electrolyzers, helping to boost efficiency and reduce costs. stone for the future of the sector. The progress of the Seal-
But these offshore pluses are weighed down with an hyfe trial once again demonstrates Lhyfe’s ability to bring
equal, if not greater number of risks, including the much about concrete advances in the hydrogen industry and at
higher CapEx and OpEx costs due to the inherent chal- great strides," Lhyfe said in a press release.
lenges associated with working efficiently, cost-effectively, With the aim of scaling to commercial production, Lhy-
and safely in the offshore environment; the logistical chal- fe opted to choose a challenging trial area.
lenges of delivering the hydrogen from the sea to the shore; Lhyfe said that the 1 MW electrolyzer supplied by Plug
and last but certainly not least, the many unknowns of would be put to the test under real conditions on a floating
operating the electrolyzers – designed and optimized for platform, a WAVEGEM platform, engineered by GEPS
onshore operations – in the caustic offshore environment. Techno, that was re-engineered to stabilize the production
Despite the negatives, Lhyfe is a French company hell- unit at sea. Connected to Central Nantes’ SEM-REV off-

shore testing hub operated by the OPEN-C Foundation, construction work, transport and installation at sea, and
a hub that is already linked with a floating wind turbine, commissioning and start-up of the platform (EPCIC). Ac-
FLOATGEN, engineered and operated by BW Ideol. tivities are due to start immediately and are expected to be
Lhyfe's Sealhyfe platform, which is less than 200 sq. m., is completed by the end of 2025.
designed to produce up to 400 kilograms of hydrogen a day. As for the Hollandse Kust offshore wind farm, it on
In another project, Dutch offshore wind farm developer June 19, 2023, produced its first megawatt-hours (MWh)
CrossWind awarded Italy’s Rosetti Marino a new engineer- of electricity, and delivered it via TenneT’s offshore grid to
ing, procurement, construction, installation, and commis- the Dutch mainland. In the coming months, production
sioning (EPCIC) contract for an offshore green hydrogen capacity will be constantly increased, so the wind farm will
production and storage pilot plant dubbed the Baseload eventually generate 3.3 TWh a year. When complete, the
Power Hub, which will be located within CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm will have a total installed
Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm, 18.5 kilome- capacity of 759 MW.
ters off the Dutch coast. CrossWind is a joint venture be-
tween Shell (80%) and Eneco (20%). There is [$22m worth of] HOPE
According to Rosetti Marino, the project will convert Lhyfe also announced that the HOPE project, which it
excess wind energy to green hydrogen through an electro- is coordinating as part of a consortium of nine partners,
lyzer and store it as green hydrogen that can be converted has been selected by the European Commission under the
to electricity when needed via a fuel cell, including also European Clean Hydrogen Partnership and won a 20 mil-
battery storage for shorter-term power storage. The aim of lion euro grant (around $22 million at the time of writing).
the project is to stabilize power flow when the wind isn’t "Through these two pioneering projects in offshore hy-
blowing as briskly and/or during power demand surges. drogen production, Lhyfe aims to validate industrial solu-
The scope of work of the contract awarded to Rosetti tions which it will submit in response to future calls for
Marino SpA includes detailed engineering of the Basel- projects from various governments, to help achieve the
oad Power Hub, procurement of material and equipment, target set by the European Commission as part of the RE-
Lhyfe / HOPE Project-
PowerEU plan of 10 million tons of clean hydrogen pro- • 10 MW PEM electrolyzer: This compact electrolyzer
duced in the European Union by 2030," Lhyfe said. will be the first of its size to be installed offshore.
To achieve this, Lhyfe has already signed partnership • Seawater treatment system: This low-energy system
agreements with wind turbine developers and offshore pow- which is compact, economical and able to use the heat emit-
er specialists, such as EDPR, Centrica, and Capital Energy. ted by the electrolyzer, will be used for the first time to pro-
Matthieu Guesné, Founder and CEO of Lhyfe, said: duce green hydrogen from seawater purified by evaporation.
“Our team – supported brilliantly by our partners – has • Underwater flexible hydrogen pipeline for hydrogen
achieved a genuine feat of technology in successfully de- export: The hydrogen will be exported ashore via a flexible
signing this first floating green hydrogen production thermoplastic composite pipeline of over a km long, which
site. We are extremely proud to be the first in the world for the first time will transport hydrogen produced at sea.
to produce [green] hydrogen at sea. "This has been our
wish since the launch of the company and we continue to HOPE Project Partners
move very quickly on offshore, which for us represents a • Lhyfe (France): Engineering, equipment procurement,
tremendous development opportunity for mass producing works supervision, operation, optimization of the over-
hydrogen and decarbonizing industry and transport. We all production, export and distribution system, project
are continuing to build on the successes we have had so coordination.
far, firstly to prove to the world that transition is possible • Plug (the Netherlands): Supply and engineering of the
today, and of course to accelerate it.” 10MW electrolyzer.
• EDP NEW (Portugal): Contribution to the optimi-
Key Innovations to be Developed via HOPE zation of operations and impact analysis. Steering of
• Recycled offshore barge: The structure housing the pro- techno-economic studies for large-scale developments.
duction unit will be a second-hand jack-up barge, demonstrat- • POM West-Vlaanderen (Belgium): Project implemen-
ing the transformation of infrastructure previously used for oil tation support in the testing area (studies, permits) and
and gas while also helping to reduce costs and lead times. analysis of the social, economic and environmental im-
pacts of the project.
• CEA (France): Optimization of operations via digital
simulation.
• Strohm (the Netherlands): Supply of the subsea flexible
thermoplastic composite pipeline (TCP).
• Alfa Laval (Denmark): Supply of the seawater treat-
ment system.
• ERM - Element Energy (France): Coordination support.
The HOPE Project

• What Hydrogen Offshore Production for Europe (HOPE)
The production site will comprise three units: production
and compression (at medium pressure) at sea, export by
composite pipeline, then compression (at high pressure),
storage and distribution onshore.
• How Big 10 MW/up to 4 tons of green hydrogen/day
• Funding 20 million Euros grant from the European
Commission
• Where The North Sea, off the port of Ostend
• Why For the first time in the world, green hydrogen
will be produced at sea and then exported ashore via a
composite pipeline to supply the needs of the regional
ecosystem. The aim is commercialization
• When By mid-2026
SAFETY OFFSHORE DROPPED OBJECTS
Stopdrop Tooling / Shutterstock
Dynamic
Risks Call
for Dynamic
Thinking
Multi-component tools can be

designed to ensure that when
they are suitably tethered
and used by a competent
individual, they are safe for
working at height.
Dropped objects are a leading cause of

incidents offshore, and the risks are many.
By Wendy Laursen

A
t present, bolts are being produced to at least Top Causes of Dropped Objects
85 different industrial standards. The Dropped According to DROPS scheme data, the top causes of
Objects Prevention Scheme (DROPS) Reli- dropped objects include inadequate risk assessment, hu-
able Securing best practice handbook, a col- man factors, inadequate procedures, failed fixtures and fit-
laborative industry effort, notes the need for a qualified tings, poor housekeeping, collisions, and snagging.
evaluation before they are used for maintenance or modi- BSEE issued a safety alert in March 2023 after a
fications. Bolted connections fail due to improper use/ 700-pound crane overhaul (headache) ball crashed to
installation (30%), vibration (20%), knocks (12%), over- deck less than two feet from a rigger after an auxiliary line
loading (11%), wear (6%), and corrosion (5%). snagged during a “blind” lift.
A 2022 DNV report notes that Norwegian Petroleum Drilling rigs can have accentuated risks simply by the
Safety Authority incident data indicates that galvanic cor- nature of the work – the lifting, the vibration.
rosion between fasteners and tertiary components and Asset age can also be a compounding factor, especially
overload/fatigue due to wind are the most common threats when assets are re-activated after cold stacking.
leading to dropped objects. But the risks need not be 700-pound; dropped tools and
Mike Rice, CEO of Dropsafe, a company specializing components also pose a significant risk.
in dropped object prevention, says whether you’re in the Stopdrop Tooling grease guns are an example of a multi-
North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, or elsewhere, there are of- component tool that’s been designed with engineering
ten prolonged periods of harsh environmental conditions controls to ensure that when the tool is suitably tethered
at all locations offshore. and used by a competent individual, it’s safe for working
He points to the dangers of counterfeit nets on the mar- at height.
ket: “The netting itself is rarely stainless steel, but even “Prior to Stopdrop Tooling being available, tools ac-
when it is, the crimps or the carabiners are not, and that is counted for 15% of all dropped object incidents,” says Gary
often where galvanic corrosion in secondary securing can Dunn, Global Business Manager at Stopdrop Tooling.
cause an issue. Eden Newell, VP of Business Development & Market-
A recent BSEE safety alert highlighted corrosion haz- ing at drops mitigation equipment supplier 5th Element
ards associated with cranes on idle facilities. Inspectors Inspection Services, cites the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
observed numerous instances where cables that supported indicating that there are over 50,000 “struck by falling ob-
blocks and balls were weakened by corrosion, resulting in ject” recordable injuries every year onshore and offshore in
components dropping from elevation. the US – that equates to one every 10 minutes. The risks
Australia’s offshore safety regulator, NOPSEMA, has are aplenty, she says.
cited a lack of consistency when describing corrosion dur- “Why is it so hard? Why do we still see dropped object
ing crane inspections as an issue. Words such as “exten- incidents as one of the top causes of lost time injuries and
sive,” “surface,” and “local” were sighted. fatalities in the offshore industry? It all boils down to the
“The prevalence of cranes operating in a de-rated capac- mindset and attitude of the person doing the job; fancy
ity due to the corrosion of the crane structure is evidence product safety solutions alone cannot solve this issue. Hu-
that reports of corrosion were either not assessed or fully man factors have a lot to do with dropped objects – ne-
understood.” glect, error, and complacency are some of the most com-
NOPSEMA's Head of Safety and Integrity Division, mon factors that can contribute to dropped object risks.”
Derrick O'Keefe, says: “Dropped objects range in size Engineer out the hazards, if possible, says Newell. Also,
and severity, and their occurrences generally do not form continue industry collaboration among oil and gas compa-
a pattern.” nies, drilling contractors, shipyards, EPC companies, con-
Revised guidance for crane operator competency was tractors, sub-contractors, and equipment manufacturers.
published in 2021, and he says a key part of prevention Lastly, put more emphasis on regular training by using
includes appropriate maintenance strategies, inspections, safety statistics and data as the basis for designing more
procedures, and trained and competent personnel. practical, hands-on, on-the-job training.

BSEE
BSEE issued a safety alert in March 2023 after a 700-pound crane overhaul
(headache) ball crashed to a deck less than two feet from a rigger.
DROPS Metaverse to mitigate the consequences.”

Axess Group recently partnered with DROPS Asia This includes survey and inspection of equipment, the
Chapter to develop a hazard hunt module in the DROPS management of tools and equipment at height, exclusion
Metaverse, a virtual reality (VR) application. zone management, and more, including DROPS aware-
As part of the training, participants virtually navigate a ness, asset-specific training, and consultation.
drilling rig to look for potential dropped objects. “Manufacturers can help identify what needs to be in-
Allen Smith, representing DROPS Training and Ad- spected and what should be corrected, but the kind of
min, sees value in what he calls a second-nature preven- dropped objects we really need to focus on in task plan-
tion strategy. ning are the dynamic drops and how to recognize the se-
“For every task, every task step, every task plan, basi- quence of events that can lead up to an incident,” says
cally everything we’re doing, we take the time out to think Smith. He believes that even the high number of incidents
about how we are prepared to prevent dropped objects and reported is an under-estimate.

Stopdrop Tooling
Multi-component tools
can be designed to
ensure that when they
are suitably tethered and
used by a competent
individual, they are safe
for working at height.
Stopdrop Tooling
Mike O'Berry, the GOM Public Affairs Officer at BSEE

says the Bureau has seen an uptick in reported incidents
involving dropped objects, with more than 60% of the re-
ported dropped objects related to crane activities.
On average, BSEE receives five lifting incident reports
each week, with approximately 17% of lifting incidents
involving a dropped load. Approximately 90% occur
during routine or recurring lifts. “BSEE believes that a
continued focus on safety must go beyond simple com-
pliance with regulations and toward the adoption of a
meaningful safety culture that permeates all offshore en-
ergy activities.”
Stopdrop Tooling courtesy of BW LPG

INTERVIEW PAUL JOHNSON, VP, TECHNICAL SERVICES, TRANSOCEAN
©aerial-drone/AdobeStock
The Art & Engineering

Of Converting A Drillship
Into An Offshore Wind
Installation Vessel
In April 2023, Transocean executed a non-binding
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with offshore
wind installation services firm Eneti, and MOU with a
plan to form a joint venture company that will engage
in offshore wind foundation installation activities. The
plan, if enacted, would see some of Transocean's drilling
vessels converted into wind turbine foundation installation
vessels. Paul Johnson, VP, Technical Services,
Transocean, shares an update with Offshore Engineer.

What motivated Transocean to enter the offshore
wind sector and convert some of its drilling ves-
sels into wind foundation installation vessels, es-
pecially during the times of high dayrates being
secured by offshore oil and gas drilling vessels?
Transocean continuously evaluates ways to leverage its
core competencies and assets. We can convert one or more
vessels to offshore wind installation vessels while further
augmenting our strong offshore expertise.
Of course, our shareholders expect that we will pursue
business opportunities that are accretive to the value of the
company, so we will always consider the various options
we have available to us and only make investments in those
that generate the appropriate financial returns.
What progress has been made since April?

What are the next steps in the formation of the
joint venture?
We continue to evaluate the offshore wind foundation
installation market and engage potential customers.
Could you elaborate on the process of convert-
Transocean
ing offshore drilling vessels into wind foundation
installation platforms? What challenges do you
anticipate during this conversion?
The conversion of a drillship to a Fixed Foundation In-
stallation Vessel (FFIV) is quite complex and takes diligent
We have designed the
planning and engineering. The process can be broken into vessel to tackle the
four key steps: largest foundations. It would
• Remove the drilling equipment, including the drill-
ing derrick and thrusters. be capable of handling a
• Mobilize the vessel to a dry dock facility for the main 3,500-ton monopile, 12+
hull modification work scope, which includes adding
8-meter-wide sponsons on either side of the ship that run meters in diameter and 120+
nearly the entire length of the vessel. This modification meters in length. To handle
adds sufficient deck space, improves the vessel's stability,
and strengthens the deck. This is required for the vessel to
such large monopiles, we
be operationally efficient as a FFIV. In addition to the hull need a very large crane. We
modification, a new anti-heeling system is installed, and
the existing water ballast system is upgraded to enable the
have selected a crane with a
vessel to carry and install the extremely large monopiles, lifting capacity of 5,200 tons.
which could be more than 3,000 tons each. Our design
would hold a maximum of six monopiles at a time.
• Add energy-efficient features to reduce the vessel's Paul Johnson, Vice President,
emissions. Technical Services,
• Install state-of-the-art equipment for handling and Transocean
installing the wind turbine foundations.

INTERVIEW PAUL JOHNSON, VP, TECHNICAL SERVICES, TRANSOCEAN
What significant upgrades to the deck and the When designing the vessel, multiple factors need to be
hull are required for a drillship to become an off- considered: deck space, deadweight carrying capacity, sta-
shore wind installation vessel? bility, maneuverability, efficiency, and vessel speed. All of
We have designed the vessel to tackle the largest foun- these factors were carefully considered and applied. We
dations. It would be capable of handling a 3,500-ton will be configured to carry six monopiles at a time.
monopile, 12+ meters in diameter and 120+ meters in
In your April 2023 announcement, the company
length. To handle such large monopiles, we need a very
said that the converted vessels would have "effi-
large crane. We have selected a crane with a lifting capac-
ity of 5,200 tons. ciency-enhancing operating features." Could you
elaborate on some of these features and how they
Do you already know which Transocean drilling will optimize the installation process?
vessels exactly are conversion candidates? We plan to install the following energy-saving and emis-
We have identified a class of vessels for the basic design sion-reduction features:
and front-end engineering. However, this is flexible. • Energy Storage System to reduce emissions by cap-
turing and storing excess power for future use
Can you talk about the planned deck space? Is • IMO Tier 3 compliance and lower emissions, uses ul-
it limited to the current drillship size, can it be tra-low-sulfur diesel, NOx reduction by up to 95%, CO2
expanded? How many of the currently biggest reduction by 20%+
monopiles will you be able to load onboard? • Dual-fuel ready
This is not the first time a Transocean Boskalis’ Bokalift 2 installs first
US-made offshore wind farm
drilling rig has been converted to serve the substation at South Fork Wind
offshore wind industry. Namely, Transocean
sold its Jack Ryan drillship to Boskalis
back in 2017. The vessel has since been
converted to an offshore wind installation
vessel, and has secured and completed
important work in the offshore wind space,
including the recent substation installation
for an offshore wind project in New York.
Read More
Boskalis Installs First U.S.-Made Offshore
Substation for South Fork Wind Project
Boskalis

DISCOVERY DEEP DRILLERS
Transocean
The JOIDES
Resolution in port in
Ponta Delgada.
MEGA MACHINES:
JOIDES RESOLUTION
When it comes to deep drillers, JOIDES Resolution takes the cake, embarking on
Expedition 395 to understand the impacts of mantle plumes on deep ocean currents.
By Celia Konowe
T
he world’s oceans, still largely unexplored, re- rapidly warming future.
main a treasure trove for scientists and research- A leader in paleoclimatology, the study of understand-
ers alike. Physical, chemical and biological fea- ing the climate and environmental change through Earth’s
tures of the ocean interact with each other and history, is the JOIDES Resolution or JR for short. The
in turn, influence oceanic, meteorological, atmospheric name stands for Joint Oceanographic Institutions for
and even geological events. Drilling below the ocean Deep Earth Sampling and pays homage to Captain James
floor for cores is a critical tool in the race to learn more Hook’s HMS Resolution. The seagoing research vessel
about the Earth’s history, current environmental dynam- is currently embarked on “Expedition 395: Reykjanes
ics, as well as their relevance for climate change and a Mantle Convection and Climate,” running from June 12

through August 12. The project has three main goals, the formation of the bedrock, explained Field. This, in turn,
first of which is to determine how the V-Shaped Ridges will help each researcher identify what types of samples
(VSR) and V-Shaped Troughs (VST) in the area along the they need for their individual projects. Co-Chief Scien-
Reykjanes Ridge (the area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge just tist Anne Briais of the Centre National de la Recherche
south of Iceland) were formed. These distinctive ocean Scientifique and the Institut Universitaire Européen de
crust patterns stretch over hundreds of kilometers on the la Mer at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale shared
seabed and are thought to be shaped by the mantle plume that her research is focused on basalt and the comparison
under Iceland, which is formed by hot rocks rising from between ridges and troughs. “I’m comparing the mor-
deep within the Earth’s interior. The second objective is to phology of lava flows and correlating them to areas of the
identify how the plume affects the circulation of deep cold ocean floor further from the mantle plume. The three hy-
water from the Norwegian Sea into the Atlantic Ocean potheses of the creation of VSRs and VSTs and the role of
(possibly through plume activity that contributed to the hot spot are crucial to understanding how mid-ocean
changes in the height of oceanic gateways between Green- ridges are working to build ocean crust.”
land, Iceland and Scotland). The third goal would deter-
mine how the structure of sediments and bedrock on the DRILLING DEEPER
ocean floor influences how hydrothermal fluids change The JR is well-equipped with the advanced technology
chemically over time. necessary to champion its role as a paleoclimate research
Locations around the region were identified for sam- vessel. Field shared that key features include a 3D x-ray
pling based on the expedition goals, seismic reflection sur- scanner to see inside sediment cores, a scanning electron
veys performed in the area, past expeditions and oppor- microscope to examine minerals inside rocks, and a mass
tunities to observe and collect unique data. Site U1564, spectrometer to measure the composition of fluid trapped
for example, is the most eastern site and located on both a in sediment. Most notable is the vessel’s 60-meter derrick,
perpendicular ridge and in the Gardar Drift. The drift sites which has the capability to lift more than 6,000 meters
are important, explained Jennifer Field, onboard outreach of drill string. As such, the JR is unparalleled in its use of
officer for Expedition 395, because sediments are deposit- a riser-less drilling system as the only globally operating
ed by cold-water currents from the Norwegian Sea and will research ship with this deep-water coring ability.
indicate if the mantle plume causes an uplift and slowing of After the onboard coring technology is employed, sam-
the flow. U1564 is also located away from VSRs and VSTs ples go through preliminary examination to gather initial
and will thus be used as a control site. Another promising data. The cores enter a whole-round multi-sensor logger
site—and a new addition, at that—is hole U1602, which (WRMSL) and special task multi-sensor logger (STMSL),
is located on an ancient VSR under the Eirik Drift, about which measure properties like density and magnetic sus-
200 miles off the east coast of Greenland. The location is ceptibility, and then are sent into the whole-core x-ray ma-
not only unexplored but may provide sediments that are chine. Cores are then split lengthwise, with one half set
millions of years old. aside for archive and one for analysis onboard. Samples are
taken from the working half to test for physical properties
FULL STEAM AHEAD such as moisture, density and magnetism, plus minerals
Expedition 395 builds on previously collected data and biological composition are examined under a micro-
from 395C, which was originally scheduled for 2020 scope. Each scientist will conduct further analysis based
and whose objectives were partially completed in sum- on individual research needs. The archived half is imaged
mer 2021 with only one scientist and a team of marine using a section half imaging logger (SHIL) and a section
technicians on board. With its complement restored, Ex- half multi-sensor logger (SHMSL), which record a pho-
pedition 395 has a full cohort of researchers and marine tographic image and properties such as reflected light and
technicians, allowing for preliminary conclusions to be magnetic susceptibility. The intensity and orientation of
drawn at sea. Cores revealing the age, composition and magnetism is measure and a description of the core is en-
history of sediments and basaltic rocks from both expedi- tered into a database. Archive halves are boxed and stored
tions will inform the scientists and aid in forming a more in a cooler onboard and moved into a repository post-ex-
accurate picture of the provenance of the sediments and pedition for further research.

© Jennifer Field & IODP

View of the derrick from the helideck.

© Tiffany Liao, IODP JRSO

UNCHARTED TERRITORY planet as recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks. The
By coring through sediments in the drifts, Expedition final year of full JR operations under the current arrange-
395 has the potential to reveal what the oceans were like ment will be Fiscal Year 2024, noted the NSF in a press
during periods when the Earth was warmer, and in turn, release. The vessel is owned by Overseas Drilling Limited
what to expect in the current era of global warming. The (a subsidiary of Siem Offshore AS) and operated by the JR
team is also enthusiastic about findings from U1602, the Science Operator (JRSO) at Texas A&M University. The
new site on the Eirik Drift, as cores haven’t been taken JR began working for the Ocean Drilling Program in 1985
from that area before. “We are seeing patterns in the cores until the IODP (then under the name of Integrated Ocean
that indicate much change through geological history and Drilling Program) began in 2003.
we are hoping to reach sediments that are about 48 million Despite not renewing its agreement with the JR due
years old,” Field said. to rising operational costs, the NSF intends to continue
Yet as is the cliché, all good things must come to an end. supporting the U.S. scientific ocean drilling community
Expedition 395 marks one of the JR’s last research trips through research investments and plans for future activi-
with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), ties. “Scientific ocean drilling has significantly contributed
a platform provided by the U.S. National Science Founda- to understanding the broader Earth system and NSF rec-
tion (NSF) that focuses on the history and structure of the ognizes the importance of these contributions,” the orga-
The Expedition 395

science party.
© Tiffany Liao, IODP JRSO

nization stated. “By ending support for the JR now, funds to continue drilling in sites that were previously drilled in
and resources can be directed towards ensuring a sustain- 395C as this has given us a reliable image about both dates
able future for the scientific ocean drilling community.” and conditions back through the Miocene,” said Field.
At the time of writing, the JR was exactly halfway The sediment cores from Expedition 395 will provide
through Expedition 395, with a month left on data collec- unprecedented insight into mantle dynamics and how
tion and countless mysteries of the deep ocean and Earth’s these influence changes in the planet’s interior, oceans and
past to uncover. With the groundwork set in 2021, scien- climate. The relationships between Earth’s natural process-
tists at sea can build on previous research, make informed es is a complex one, as well as a precursor for future climate
decisions in the field, and cohesively assemble a detailed mitigation and adaptation. With each core the JR collects,
history like never before. “We are really excited to be able one more piece is added to the deep-sea puzzle.
© Parnell-Turner, Briais & LeVay, 2023
Bathymetry, deepwater
currents (dashed lines),
contourite drifts (gray
shading), Seismic
Profile JC50-1 (solid
line), and Expedition
395 and 395C sites.
Summary of
completed
© Parnell-Turner, Briais & LeVay, 2023
(Expeditions
384 and 395C)
and planned
(Expedition 395)
operations for the
Expedition 395
science plan.

HEAVY LIFTERS DECK MACHINERY & CRANES
"YOU'RE GONN
A BIGGER CRA
Jan De Nul

NA NEED Offshore wind
turbines are reaching
ANE..."
new heights both
literally (meters),
and figuratively
(megawatts). As
the demand for
larger turbines
surges, so do the
challenges faced by
offshore installation
contractors, which
need to come up
with bigger vessels,
and, consequentially,
bigger cranes.
By Bartolomej Tomic

“What they generally need, or

looking for these days, is bigger. And
bigger not only in safe working load,
but also bigger in hook height. And
that's typically represented by the
length of the boom of the crane. So,
a 140-meter boom used to be a very
long boom in 2020, but these days
people are contracting us for booms
of 155-meter boom length, and
they're looking at more,”
– Cees van Veluw,
Product Director of Cranes,
Huisman
W
hen I took on the assignment to produce man began in 2005. Over the years, he has climbed the
a piece focusing on heavy-lifting cranes ranks to his current role as the Product Director of Cranes,
and deck machinery for OE, I immedi- a role he's held since July 2022.
ately thought of Huisman as a company His responsibilities include supporting the sales team by
best suited for coverage in this space, especially for its providing proposals and driving new technical develop-
LECs (Leg Encircling Cranes). ments for offshore cranes.
If you type in “Huisman“ in the search box of OEDigital.
com, you'll get about 172 articles, and in recent years, most of What is a Leg Encircling Crane?
them have been about Huisman securing orders for Leg En- Van Veluw says that the name itself explains what a leg-
circling Cranes for jack-up offshore wind installation vessels. encircling crane is. These cranes are installed on jack-up
These orders have come, amongst others, from Van Oord, vessels – self-elevating units with legs - and the crane cir-
Cadeler, Havfram, Eneti, Dominion, DEME Offshore, Jan cles around one of these legs.
De Nul, and Fred. Olsen Windcarrier – basically, creme-de- “A jack-up vessel is lifted out of the water, legs are put on
la-creme of offshore wind installation service providers. the seabed. The jacking system pushes up the vessel, and
To learn more about these offshore cranes, we turned to this way, the vessel has turned into a stable platform for
Huisman's Cees van Veluw. installing wind turbines,“ Van Veluw explains.
With a background in structural engineering and me- “When you put the crane on, there's always a battle for
chanical engineering, Cees van Veluw's journey at Huis- space on the vessel,“ Van Veluw explains. But, if you circle

Van Oord
Van Oord's
BOREAS
the crane around the leg, so you have the leg in the center Customization & Installation
line of the crane, this saves valuable operational space. Huisman's LECs are not an off-the-shelf product but are
So this is the reason why the company came up with tailored to meet the specific requirements of each client,
this design some years ago, and has since produced quite an offshore wind installation firm, or a shipyard building
a few of them. a WTIV.
Basically, Van Veluw says, the whole idea started with “Customization is basically done by almost all of our
a, "Hey, can we put a ringer crane like the PTC-35 we customers,“ Van Veluw says, adding that this depends on
supplied to Mammoet? Can we put a crane like that on a hook configurations, boom lengths, features, speeds, paint
jack-up vessel?" systems, operator cabin layouts, etc.
“Well, it started that way, and then we moved on and According to Van Veluw, it takes between two and two
on and on with that one. And it has been fine-tuned with and a half years to deliver an LEC, depending on the fea-
many models, and this is where we are right now. And it tures, the moment in time, the supply chain situation, and
has been quite a popular model for installation of turbines the level of customization.
mainly, but also for installation of foundations,“ Van Ve- The other aspect is installation, he says.
luw said. “It's a big crane that needs to come on a big vessel. So,
All Huisman's LECs are fully electric, which, Van Veluw the exact integration has to be discussed with the owner,
says, provides operational accuracy, and reliability, are less and if there's a yard involved, also with the yard,” Van Ve-
noisy, and there's no threat of hose bursting. luw says.

To facilitate easier installation, Huisman invested in 162.5 meters.

a big Skyhook crane in its facility in China, where the The Voltaire has been designed to install the offshore
company builds the LECs – it builds them in Europe, wind turbines of the future, with turbines over 270 meters
too - and, when convenient, it can install the crane on a high and blades 120 meters long. The vessel will soon start
vessel there. installing giant 14MW turbines at the Dogger Bank wind
farm offshore the UK, which will, once fully completed, be
Vessel Owners Want it Bigger the world's largest at 3.6GW.
What do offshore wind turbine installation vessel opera- Also, Dutch firm Van Oord, in November 2021, or-
tors call for these days, when it comes to Huisman's LECS? dered a 3,200t Huisman LEC, designed to be able to in-
“What they generally need, or looking for these days, is stall turbines of up to 20MW, for its also newly ordered,
bigger. And bigger not only in safe working load, but also 175-meter, methanol-power jack-up vessel Boreas.
bigger in hook height. And that's typically represented by "This crane will be the largest Leg Encircling Crane that
the length of the boom of the crane. So, a 140-meter boom Huisman has developed to date in terms of lifting capac-
used to be a very long boom in 2020, but these days people ity, boom length, installed power, and technical features,"
are contracting us for booms of 155-meter boom length, Huisman said at the time. The Boreas is expected to be
and they're looking at more,” Van Veluw says. delivered in 2024.
For example, the OEDigital.com archive shows that in In April 2023, Huisman won a contract from offshore
November 2015, jack-up owner Seajacks, today owned by wind installation contractor Havfram Wind for the de-
Eneti, took delivery of the Seajacks Scylla jack-up instal- livery of a 3,000mt+ Leg Encircling Crane for its second
lation vessel, at the time dubbed „the world’s largest and NG-20000X Wind Turbine Installation Vessel.
most capable installation jackup vessel to date.“ The vessel The LEC will be outfitted with a 155-meter boom and
featured a Huisman 1540-tonne leg-encircling crane, and will have a lifting height of approximately 180 meters
Seajacks said at the time, “it can handle XL monopiles, above deck.
jacket foundations, and is able to transport an impressive We asked Van Veluw if these cranes could go even big-
number of the 7 and 8MW turbines that are currently [in ger, and if there was a limit somewhere.
2015] available in the wind market.” “We are indeed looking at an even bigger version [of an
Since those times, turbines have grown bigger, and with LEC],” Van Veluw says, adding that the company has a
them, the need for bigger cranes and vessels. model ready for a 5000t LEC version.
In 2020, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier ordered a 1,600mt “It has to be seen in conjunction with the total vessel.
Leg Encircling Crane, capable of installing foundations So one of the tricky things with the vessel is the jacking
and “all known next-generation offshore wind turbines,” system. We've also started looking into jacking systems
with an illustration shared showing that the vessel could ourselves. We have a full-scale demonstrator in our facility
install a 12MW wind turbine „of the future.“ This crane in Schiedam, which is open for evaluation by our clients
was installed on an existing vessel, extending its lifetime. as well. And we have seen that bigger cranes need bigger
But how things have changed since then, and how quick- jacking systems.“
ly, show the recent LEC orders Huisman has received, with
LECs ranging from 2200t to over 3000t lifting capability. “10MW is easy“
Earlier this year, Huisman shipped the 2,200mt leg en- Global energy industry intelligence group Rystad said
circling crane to the Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Browns- late in November 2020 that the offshore wind industry
ville, Texas, for integration on the Charybdis, the first would, as early as 2024, face a shortage of WTIVs capable
Jones-Act compliant WTIV. of installing 10MW+ turbines, and that, at the time of that
Last year, Huisman's LEC 3200t crane was installed report, there had only been four WTIVs capable of install-
on Jan De Nul's Voltaire jack-up, breaking the record for ing 12MW+ turbines.
the world's largest installed LEC. Jan De Nul's spec sheet “[Today,] the 10MW one is easy,“ Van Veluw said, add-
of the vessel claim's a maximum crane lifting capacity of ing that most of the Huisman recent LEC orders we men-
3,200 t, with a maximum lifting height above deck of tioned earlier were capable of installing 15MW turbines at

least, and some of them even bigger
than that.
“So people have learned from the
past that you shouldn't order a crane
too small. And still, turbines keep on Watch the full interview with
growing and growing, and there will be Huisman's Cees van Veluw on
another moment in time when some Offshore Engineer TV, as we
cranes are too small. It will happen.” also discussed:
As for any limits on how big these
cranes could get, Van Veluw says: • Van Veluw’s crane project of which he is most proud: (spoiler alert, it is not an
LEC, but it is 5,000 tons);
“Well, probably there is a limit some-
• The role of the AI in the future of crane development and operation
where, but the limit is not at the 5,000 • How the offshore crane order book has changed over the years from oil and
ton and the boom length of, let's say, gas to renewables
• Benefits of upgrading cranes on older vessels, and
170, 175 meters we're facing today. It • Different approaches to installing cranes based on whether a vessel is a new-
can be bigger, and from the crane per- build or retrofit.
spective, it can be longer.”

Vard
Watch the interview

from Norway on
Offshore Engineer TV
“Game-Changing”
CSOV In Norway
Offshore Engineer was recently in Norway to learn
more about the newly launched Construction Service
Operation Vessel REM Power, and of particular
interest for this magazine edition, its crane.

T
he vessel's owner REM Offshore is a Norwe- Where it all Started
gian company, for years, best known for its ves- In 2023 Seaonics won awards for its fully electric and
sels providing support in the oil and gas sector. motion-compensated crane, and at the industry confer-
However, the company has, in the past few years, ence where the award was presented, it was there that
been expanding into the offshore wind sector. Rem's Ronny Pål Kvalsvik saw the crane concept and
A testament to these new efforts is the delivery of the started thinking about ordering one.
REM Power, which Ronny Pål Kvalsvik, Rem Offshore's He says “[Seaonics] presented a crane, and I [thought],
Chief Commercial Officer, says this is “a game changer” this looks interesting. Where can we utilize this technol-
for the SOV market due to the combination of equipment ogy? How could we do it? And then we started discussing
and technology onboard. it between us. We have a need. We want to have this capac-
Delivered in May 2023, the 85-m long vessel, equipped ity. We want to have it electrical.”
with a diesel-electric and battery hybrid propulsion sys-
tem, was completed in Vard Soviknes, in Norway. Capacity
It is the world's first vessel of the type to be equipped with And then, Kvalsvik says, the ball started rolling, the
Kongsberg Rim-driven azimuth propellers as main propul- company ordered the vessel and realized they needed a
sion, and it is also equipped with a system that measures the higher-capacity crane.
vessel’s environmental impacts throughout each stage of the “We needed at least a five-ton. Of course, I had to ask
lifecycle, from raw materials extraction to disposal. for seven. We need to have harbor lifts that were high-
er than any cranes had, also, 3D cranes. So this was the
The Crane background. We needed to have something that was a bit
But, as mentioned, for Offshore Engineer's Deck Ma- higher than what we saw in the market, and we challenged
chinery and Cranes section, REM Power's innovative all- Seaonics to come up with a solution for,”
electric, 5-ton, 25-meter, heave compensated crate, devel- Seaonic's Fure said. “We had a [crane] concept, but to-
oped in collaboration with Seaonics, is arguably the most gether with the REM, we actually made it better.
exciting bit. “And, of course, the crane got the higher SWL [Safe
At the launch, the company said that Rem Power would Working Load]. We started with two tons, then it got three
be the world's first vessel to be equipped with VARD tons, then we got five tons, now we got seven tons, and we
daughter SEAONICS’ Electric Controlled Motion Com- got 15 tons in harbor mode.”
pensated (ECMC) crane, securing efficient handling op-
erations for a sustainable future. Walk to Work
“This system allows to always keep the load close to the As for the Rem Power, which offers accommodation for
crane tip from the deck level to the TP platform. The new up to 120 persons, including 93 windfarm technicians and
and innovative crane ensures quick and safe cargo trans- a crew of up to 27, at the time of speaking with Kvalsvik
fer,” the company said. and Fure, the vessel was working for ASSO Subsea sup-
Seaonic’s sales manager Ståle Fure says the crane is fully 3D porting a Vattenfall wind farm construction, providing
compensated, fully electric, and has a completely new design. welfare and transfer services to personnel.
“It's on an old principle in a new design, with a tele- For easier transfer of personnel to and from the vessel
scopic and wire luffing for the luffing boom,” he says. and the Rem Power is equipped with a special W2W
He also talks about the benefits of going fully electric: system (walk to work). The Uptime 30m AMC logistic
“When you go electric, you get a very good response for system is said to consist of the world's first autono-
your access, where you're going to do the compensation mous gangway with artificial intelligence, combined
for. And this is actually one of the biggest advantages of the with an integrated elevator tower for personnel and
electrical solution, that you can get a very accurate motion cargo logistics.
compensating, and of course, also, to regenerate back pow- It is capable of auto-landing, slip-off detection, integrat-
er to the grid on the vessel, the AC grid or the DC grid, de- ed crane function for cargo handling, integrated transfer-
pends. And, of course, there is no oil in this system at all.” lines, and stepless access for personnel and cargo.

TECH FILE SUBSEA PILE PROTECTION
All images courtesy Balmoral
Watch the full interview

with Dr. Aneel Gill on
Offshore Engineer TV
Tech File:
HexDefence Scour Protection
For Offshore Wind
As the pace of offshore wind installation accelerates globally,
all eyes turn to tools and techniques that will enable efficient
installation and lifecycle protection of offshore wind towers.
Balmoral, with decades of experience protection offshore oil
and gas infrastructure, debuts HexDefence. Dr. Aneel Gill,
Product R&D Manager, Balmoral, discusses the key benefits.
By Greg Trauthwein

"[HexDefence’s] inception came

from oil and gas, but to be honest,
they're all marine engineering.
If you have something in the
water column used in oil and gas,
maybe the risk profiles are slightly
different. However, the importance
of something being used subsea for
30 years, whether it's oil and gas,
whether it's renewables, really the
thought process, the technology, all
should be very similar."
Dr. Aneel Gill, Product R&D
Manager, Balmoral
Much innovation comes down to filling gaps. We followed up, we've done tank testing, we've done
What gap did you see in the market that let to CFD work and we’ve shown that the product has some
really strong performance when it comes to an alternative
the invention of HexDefence?
method to scour protection.
One of the main products that we have at Balmoral is a
cable protection system, protecting the cable as it's coming
out from a monopile or a jacket configuration, taking it How specifically does HexDefence work?
past a traditional scour protection. What we were actually It's not a magical device, all we are really doing here
looking at was how do we diminish accelerated flow, which is redistributing flow. And if we redistribute flow, we are
is a phenomenon of water going past a cylindrical object redistributing energy and we're dropping the load cases
[as it] increases loads. which are occurring on the seabed. And if you think about
We had a product that we knew was very good in terms it like a particle of sand or a particle of rock, there's a cer-
of its hydrodynamic performance, hydrodynamic shape tain amount of energy that it takes to move each particle. If
within the oil and gas sector, and that was our LDV prod- we are able to drop the energies down at the seabed, we're
uct. Looking at those feasibilities, what we found was we able to stabilize it, make it less prone to erosion or the
found a reduction in accelerated flow. But we also noticed forces occurring as the current is passing through or past
a reduction in prevalent kinetic energy, and we used that the object, the structure within the water column. There's
as an indicator to say, ‘maybe there's something else here. bit more to it, but in a nutshell that's what we're doing:
Maybe this can also reduce the shear stress at seabed’, we're redistributing energy; we're moving current flow
which is a key factor in the phenomena of scour. away from concentrating it on the seabed.

Scour Pneumonia
HexDefence – Installation
Can you discuss a bit more about the materi- What is the process to install HexDefense and
als that are used for HexDefence? How long are how does it save time or money in terms of al-
they designed to last, and what, if any, specific ternative methods of protection?
or special maintenance do they require? We’ve had discussions with developers and installers to
Right now we are looking at a couple of different op- really hone in on a installation process that works for them.
tions. Both have different ways of manufacturer, also have We've come up with some basic strategies, and the idea is
different advantages. One is a GRP or an epoxy-based it's sleeved over a monopile structure, and that's utilizing
system, designed to be used in a seawater environment the same vessel, the same lift vessels that we would use for
for 30 years plus. We're also looking at other materials, let's say the transition pieces which have to also get fitted.
things like concrete and items like that, which again, That's one scenario. There are obviously different scenarios
have a different cost structure but also have a different within the, or different installation strategies that account
advantage as well. Things like ballast, weight mass, which happen for different fields. But one scenario would be that.
also helps with the product and making it more stable The idea here really is the total cost of ownership. It's about
when it's around a monopile. saying, "We'll put HexDefense on and we are able to reduce
the level of rock dumping." So that eliminates the need for
Does HexDefence come from the oil and gas sector? a number of vessels. It's also saying we are able to bury our
Its inception came from oil and gas, but to be hon- cable much closer to the monopile, therefore it's to have
est, they're all marine engineering in my opinion. If you reduced dynamic length and making the load cases much
have something in the water column used in oil and gas, easier to contain on things like cables. Again, we're thinking
maybe the risk profiles are slightly different. However, longevity. We're thinking what can we do for the total cost
the importance of something being used subsea for 30 of ownership of the field. And we see a lot of the time sav-
years, whether it's oil and gas, whether it's renewables, ing, a lot of OpEx cost being saved and really improving the
really the thought process, the technology, all should be lifespan of cables, improving the lifespan of not having to go
very similar. and redo a rock dumping operation after the fact.

by the numbers
R I G S
Worldwide Latin America & the Caribbean Russia & Caspian
Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization
Drillship 7 74 81 91% Drillship 25 25 100% Jackup 8 2 10 20%
Jackup 200 268 468 57% Jackup 3 3 6 50% Semisub 1 2 3 67%
Semisub 26 51 77 66% Semisub 12 12 100%
Global Average Dayrates
Africa Middle East Floaters Jackups
Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization Ultradeep water 414.7 High-spec 145.3
Drillship 1 13 14 93% Jackup 41 122 163 75% Deepwater 325.0 Premium 141.9
Jackup 16 15 31 48% Drillship Midwater 398.7 Standard 90.8
Semisub 1 4 5 80%
North America
Asia Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization
Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization Drillship 1 24 25 96%
Drillship 4 5 9 56% Jackup 26 23 49 47% This data focuses on the marketed rig fleet and excludes
Jackup 90 68 158 43% Semisub 2 3 5 60% assets that are under construction, retired, destroyed,
Semisub 17 6 23 26% deemed noncompetitive or cold stacked.
Oceania
Europe Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization
Rig Type Available Contracted Total Utilization Drillship
Drillship 1 7 8 88% Jackup 2 2 100% Data as of August 2023
Jackup 15 30 45 67% Semisub 3 3 100% Source: Wood Mackenzie Offshore Rig Tracker
Semisub 5 21 26 81%
d i s c o v e r i e s & R e s e rv e s
Offshore New Discoveries
Water Depth 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Deepwater 16 20 14 13 22 2
Shallow water 56 86 44 55 33 20
Ultra-deepwater 18 18 11 7 16 5 Shallow water (1-399m) Deepwater (400-1,499m)
Grand Total 90 124 69 75 71 27 Ultra-deepwater (1,500m+)
Offshore Undeveloped Recoverable Reserves

Water Depth Number Recoverable Recoverable
of fields reserves gas mboe reserves liquids mbl
Deepwater 577 47,888 22,933 Contingent, good technical, probable development.
Shallow water 3,230 420,483 143,157
Ultra-deepwater 339 47,058 28,326 The total proven and probably (2P) reserves which are
Grand Total 4,147 515,429 194,417 deemed recoverable from the reservoir.
Offshore Onstream & Under Development Remaining Reserves

Region Number Remaining Remaining
of fields reserves gas mboe reserves liquids mbl
Africa 577 18,421 12,058
Asia 833 15,773 7,918
Europe 758 13,460 12,237
Latin America and the Caribbean 193 6,985 41,215
Middle East 141 92,657 149,982
North America 469 2,931 13,518 Onstream and under development.
Oceania 89 11,753 1,181
Russia and the Caspian 60 17,509 13,333 The portion of commercially recoverable 2P
Grand Total 3,120 179,487 251,442 reserves yet to be recovered from the reservoir.
Source: Wood Mackenzie Lens Direct

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THE FUTURE OF OFFSHORE ENERGY & TECHNOLOGY

JULY/AUGUST 2023 | OEDIGITAL.COM | VOL. 48, NO. 4

For Offshore Wind,

Safety & Mitigating the Risk

As Dayrates Rise, Where are

Installation Vessel Interview:

Cover photo: Jan De Nul

2 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

16 Anchor Handler Construction:

32 Mega Machines: JOIDES Resolution

44 “Game-Changing” CSOV In Norway 28

46 Tech File: HexDefence Scour

© Claudio Robustelli Test, IODP JRSO

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 3

Editor & Publisher Circulation

4 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

Terry Childs is the Head of RigLogix for Westwood Global Energy

Ina Golikja is an equity and credit analyst in the Research team

Celia Konowe is from Reston, Virginia, recently graduating from

Philip Lewis is Director Research at Intelatus Global Partners. He

Bartolomej Tomic is managing editor of Offshore Engineer. He has,

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 5

Extend Safety Valve Lifespan

6 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 7

With burst sensors installed both upstream and down-

8 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 9

Rig Dayrates Have Risen,

Terry Childs, Head of RigLogix, Westwood Global Energy Group

10 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 11

12 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 13

The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a

14 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 15

Several market players have unveiled

Anchor Handler Construction:

By Philip Lewis, Research Director of Intelatus Global Partners

16 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

Maersk Supply Service

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 17

Jan Arne Wold / Equinor

Anchor handlers connect to first

18 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 19

It’s (Really) Not Easy Be

20 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

Hollandse Kust Noord

eing Green (Hydrogen)

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 21

The HOPE Project

Stopdrop Tooling / Shutterstock

Multi-component tools can be

Dropped objects are a leading cause of

24 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM

july/august 2023 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 25

DROPS Metaverse to mitigate the consequences.”