Norwegian offshore vessel operator Island Offshore has recently set what it says is a world record with its deep-water installation vessel Island Victory during pre-laying of anchors at Lundin Energy's Solveig field in the North Sea, off Norway.
"The anchors are fastened by pulling them with such great force that they embed themselves into the seabed. In cases where a significant degree of force is needed this is done "in tandem" by two vessels. Island Victory, however, did it all on her own!," Island Offshore said.
According to Island Offshore, 440 tonnes of continuous traction on an anchor counts as a world record and has never been done by one vessel alone before.
"A total of eight anchors and anchor lines were laid out, ready for hook-up to the rig West Bollsta. Lundin Energy Norway is the operator of the oilfield, with Island Crusader on contract as the support vessel of West Bollsta," Island Offshore said.
Vryhof anchors
The anchors in question were Vryhof's STEVSHARK®REX drag embedment anchors, and were installed in preparation for the West Bollsta drilling rig.
"These high-performance anchors are suited to more challenging soil conditions and are installed by embedding themselves into the seabed. The high force is applied to embed them correctly and also to demonstrate the holding capacity to the 100 year design load," Vryhof explained.
"Over a period of just two days, all 8 STEVSHARK®REX anchors were installed without any issues at a water depth of around 100 metres, ready for hook-up to the rig. This area has historically been difficult to work in and often requires anchor resetting or piggy back anchors. The STEVSHARK®REX is designed to penetrate the seabed quickly, resulting in a shorter drag length during installation. This results in reduced time offshore and the associated cost savings," Vryhof said.
The Solveig field is located in the central part of the North Sea. It is being developed with subsea installations that will be tied into the Edvard Grieg platform.
"We developed the STEVSHARK®REX to expand the boundaries of cost-efficient and robust moorings. We are grateful for the trust Lundin Energy Norway and vessel operator, Island Offshore, have put in the STEVSHARK®REX anchor for this particular project that allowed the STEVSHARK®REX to further prove itself," said Leopoldo Bello, Managing Director at Vryhof Anchors. "And we are of course delighted that this mooring campaign has been executed to the great satisfaction of the customer. It is yet another confirmation that the anchor is a perfect example of how we support our customers in optimizing mooring spreads, minimizing downtimes, and speeding up their operations.”