Osbit Ltd has delivered to Gulf Marine Services UK Ltd (GMS) the offshore industry’s first height adjustable boat landing system for a jack-up vessel.
Osbit’s access tower, which features an integrated boat landing system, provides safe crew access between self-elevating support vessel (SESV) GMS Endeavour and crew transfer vessels (CTVs). The system also improves efficiency by ensuring that the management of personnel movement is not impacted by the height of the SESV.
This increased efficiency is achieved via the system’s five height settings that enable it to be accessed in line with the vessel’s jacked up position, across the full tidal range. Its height, relative to the vessel deck, is adjusted using GMS Endeavour’s 230 tonne capacity on-board crane.
Fabricated on the banks of the River Tyne and assembled at Osbit’s facility at the Port of Blyth in North East England, the 26.4 metre tower system was delivered within a five-month project timeframe, as part of the vessel’s mobilisation programme.
Osbit’s engineers also completed the installation of the boat landing system on GMS Endeavour at Port of Blyth. The installation took place ahead of GMS Endeavour’s deployment to support Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm, which is located 120 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast. The vessel will provide accommodation and access to substations for technicians working on the windfarm project.
GMS Endeavour is a Large Class self-propelled SESV capable of supporting a broad range of well services, wind farm installation and maintenance projects, and can provide accommodation for up to 300 people. The vessel can operate in water depths of up to 65 metres and has a leg length of 94.2 metres.
Duncan Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Marine Services, commented: “GMS has been delivering high quality offshore support to our international energy clients for more than 40 years, and being both builders and operators of our vessels we have the expertise and operational experience to provide innovative solutions to meet our clients’ needs. The specific challenge presented by our client for this project required our vessel GMS Endeavour to remain elevated at a height of 15.1 metres above sea level, while at the same time providing the capability to safely dock a CTV against the vessel, and then ensure the transit of up to 200 passengers per day from the CTV to the main deck of GMS Endeavour.
“Our solution was to design and produce an integrated CTV boat landing and access tower specifically for our SESV. The tower would need to withstand the extremities of the metocean data collected over the past 50 years, adhere to current regulation for offshore structures, and would need a construction programme that could be delivered on time and on budget. We commissioned tried and tested design consultancy Osbit to work with us to deliver this industry-first concept.
“To date, the structure and its interface to GMS Endeavour has been designed, built, installed and finally approved in accordance with classification requirements. We have been very pleased with the entire process, with GMS Endeavour now operational at the Hornsea Project One wind farm.”
Brendon Hayward, Managing Director of Osbit Ltd, said: “This system not only meets the stringent safety standards required for offshore crew transfer activities, it delivers new levels of efficiency through its innovative design.
“Working closely with GMS, we have created a solution that enables crew transfers to take place at whatever height the vessel is jacked up to, which will have a positive impact on its day-to-day operations.
“This project, delivered professionally and with care, highlights our approach to innovation. As an experienced producer of walk-to-work and crew transfer access systems for the offshore industry, we are constantly looking at devising new and effective solutions that meet the evolving requirements of logistically-challenging projects, such as offshore wind farm installations.”