Prosafe’s newest rival in the flotel market is Swedish company Floatel International, established by Bassoe Offshore and management in Gothenburg in late 2006 and run by an experienced management team comprising personnel from Consafe Offshore.
The company’s first newbuild semisubmersible accommodation vessel, Floatel Superior, built by Keppel Fels, left Singapore in March to begin its maiden charter contract for ConocoPhillips Australia; housing some 500 people during a three-month shut-down of the Bayu Undan field in the Timor Sea.
‘Floatel International was formed to satisfy the increasing global demand for a new generation of accommodation and construction support vessels to operate in deeper waters and more hostile environments,’ explains CEO Peter Jacobsson. Pointing out that this is the first North Sea accommodation rig built for some 22 years, he adds: ‘It is certainly a vessel that the market has been waiting for.’
Floatel Superior has accommodation for 440 people in one-man cabins. Temporary beds have been added for the ConocoPhillips charter. DNV-classed, it is in full compliance with all the latest rules and regulations for the Norwegian sector.
The vessel features full HSE compliance for unrestricted operations in the North Sea and anywhere else in the world. Hailed as the only flotel with freefall lifeboats and escape chutes, the vessel’s telescopic gangway for personnel and goods transit to and from a rig can be extended or shortened by ±7.5m, allowing the vessel to remain connected in severe weather conditions.
For safe positioning alongside the host facility, Floatel Superior can use either its powerful DP3 system or deploy the eight-point mooring system. When anchored, the thrusters will be automatically engaged, meaning that mooring line tension will be reduced in severe weather.
Meanwhile, construction of the company’s second semisubmersible accommodation vessel, Floatel Reliance, is reported to be on track for delivery at the end 2010. With an operational displacement of 17,900t compared with the Superior’s 29,000t and DP2 positioning, it will have accommodation for 500 and is targeted at the more accessible markets in the Gulf Mexico and Asia.