Ampelmann, a Dutch based offshore company focusing on the development, construction, lease and sale of offshore access solutions reports that during the night of February 26th, the 100,000th transfer was made from an Ampelmann system to an offshore platform.
The milestone was reached within 4 years after the start of Ampelmann Operations B.V., a spin-off of the Delft University of Technology.
The company currently operates 9 units worldwide and expects to grow to 20 by the end of the year. Next to its operations in Europe, Australia, Asia and South America, the company started operations in Qatar this same weekend.
An Ampelmann works like an inverted flight simulator: placed on the deck of any ship, the 6 hydraulic legs of the Ampelmann counteract the ship motions to make the gangway stand still compared to the fixed world. This makes the transfer to any offshore structure “as easy as crossing the street” even in high wave conditions.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, February 27, 2012; image: Ampelmann