Harkand, the subsea inspection, repair and maintenance contractor, has embarked on a contract awarded by Premier Oil Plc to support the operator activities on the Solan field development, West of Shetland.
The multi-purpose service vessel the Siem Spearfish, which is on long-term charter to Harkand, arrived in Newcastle earlier this month to begin mobilisation for the campaign which will see it perform walk-to-work duties for the ongoing commissioning work on site.
The Spearfish is being fitted with an Ampelmann active motion compensated gangway which will allow workers to walk onto the Solan platform safely – even in high wave conditions. The Spearfish is due to arrive on site later this month with the work expected to run until August.
The 120m Spearfish was launched last year after being designed and built at the Vard facility in Norway with input from Harkand.
David Kerr, Harkand Europe managing director, said: “Solan is an important development and is expected to contribute to the UK economy for the next 20 years. It is also a potentially challenging project in terms of the variable weather conditions West of Shetland.”
Meanwhile, Harkand has also started work on decommissioning Maersk oil platforms in the Leadon field, having secured a £multi-million, 12-month contract for two dive support ships. Kerr added:
‘There is an estimated 500 – 690 oil facilities reaching the end of their operational life over the next three decades, so North Sea asset decommissioning projects will play a large part in Harkand’s future.”
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