DUBAI’S Drydocks World has announced its interest in building AJ 62-X135 series of multi-purpose (accommodation and construction)  jackup rigs.

The company also highlighted its feat in lifting a 10,000-tonne topside of a semi-submersible and reported it had signed a deal with a Polish firm to investigate areas of mutual cooperation.

Offshore Innovation Management (OIM), with whom Drydocks World signed a Letter of Intent for the multipurpose jackup rigs, says they would be the largest of their kind in the world. OIM is a major provider of innovated solutions for the offshore oil and gas and wind energy market.

The 86 m x 95 m AJ 62-X 135, standing 185 m high and weighing 26,000 tonnes, is a three legged jackup rig which will provide accommodation and facilities according to Norsok European Standards for between 208 and 490 people in single cabins depending on rig configuration.

The rig, which can operate in waters up to 135 m with a 25 m air gap, will have a 100 per cent up-time in any weather conditions unlike semi-submersible accommodation and construction rigs.

Drydocks World, a leader in maritime and offshore services to the shipping, oil, gas and energy sectors, said the projects will commence in 2014 and the first rig is expected to be delivered in 2016.

Commenting on the deal, Khamis Juma Buamim, chairman of Drydocks World and Maritime World, said: “This is an extension on winning “Expo 2020“. Congratulations to our leadership on achieving this landmark event which is bound to have a significant impact and will substantially boost returns for the economy of the UAE.”

“We are delighted to have signed this LOI to construct these high performance rigs which can provide a broad range of services including the provision of accommodation and construction services, heavy lift support for hook-up and commissioning activities during installation of new topsides or in the installation of subsea structures,” he stated.

According to him, Drydocks World has considerable experience in catering to the specialised requirements and exacting quality standards of the offshore oil and gas industry and has made deep and meaningful inroads into these rapidly evolving sectors in recent months.

“This is in line with our business strategy to target this market segment aggressively with added value services,” he noted.

Oddgeir Indrestrand, founder and CEO of OIM, said the company was excited to start the journey in partnership with Drydocks World.

“Their success will be our success. Their proven track record for quality and efficiency in delivery has led us to reach this noteworthy milestone. We have close and personal interactions with the top management of Drydocks World and their drive to professionalism, excellence, transformation and innovation is one that we share,” he said.

These giant rigs will be equipped with a 3,000-tonne Huismann crane for offshore heavy lifts, a large free working deck will full crane coverage, a heli-deck for use by AW 101 helicopters and a full helicopter crew of 21 and safety equipment for all personnel onboard.

“This common objective is something that we are grateful for as this ensures a long and fruitful relationship between our two organisations,” he added.

TOPSIDE LIFTING

In other Drydocks World news, the company announced it created history in marine and offshore operations when it lifted the 10,000-tonne topside of the first gravity base of the semi-submersible and world’s largest offshore HVDC platform structure DolWin beta to a height of 52.8 m from the dock bottom.

Buamim said: “We have taken our engineering excellence to greater heights through this unique and remarkable feat. It is a significant first and speaks volumes of our strengths in terms of technical capabilities. I am sure that the future will bring even more challenging assignments and we will handle them with equal ease. This heavy lift is a hallmark anywhere in the world and in our involvement with offshore projects. In the months ahead we look forward to greater achievements in our operations which will place us on a par, if not ahead, with the best in the business.”

The complex mating operation was carried out on DolWin beta which is under construction at the shipyard. The environmentally friendly system will act as a 900 MW electricity transmission link that will connect offshore wind farms located at the DolWin wind farm area near Helgoland in the German sector of the North Sea. It will be managed by Aibel from Haugesund, Norway. The German company TenneT Offshore has awarded the contract to ABB for the supply of power through the transmission link.

The heavy lift was part of the mating operation of the topsides with the substructure. The operation, which started on December 5, 2013, consisted of lifting topsides by strand jacks and floating the substructure in the dock and then carefully moving it under the lifted topsides. The topsides were then lowered under careful guidance subsequently locking with the substructure. Dedicated teams from Drydocks World, Aibel, ABB and TenneT worked relentlessly for months to achieve this engineering and docking spectacle.

Drydocks World and Maritime World signed an MoU with Mars Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamkniety (Mars Closed-End Investment Fund), a Warsaw, Poland-based company that manages multiple companies engaged in the marine and maritime sectors including shipyards, ship repair services and construction of offshore structures for the oil and energy sectors.

The mutual areas of cooperation under the MoU will be based on identification of projects suitable for common execution or close partnership as contractors or subcontractors in the offshore services and maritime sectors.