Giant vessel carrying world’s largest spar hull approaching Norway

The Dockwise Vaguard, the world’s largest heavy transportation vessel is set to reach Norway this weekend, delivering the hull of world’s largest spar platform – Statoil’s Aasta Hansteen.

The vessel in April left South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries yard where the platform was built, carrying the heavy load to Norway.

According to data from Marine Traffic, the Ocean Vanguard was in the North Sea between the UK and The Netherlands around noon on Friday, sailing towards Norway at a speed of 8.9 kn.

The website providing global vessel traffic info further shows the 275 meters long Ocean Vanguard is expected to reach its destination on Saturday evening.

Once in Norway, the 200-meter-long hull weighing 46 000 tonnes, will be upended and mated with the topside weighing 24 000 tonnes, becoming the world’s largest platform of its kind.

What is more, the Aasta Hansteen platform will be Norway’s first spar platform in production. Spar is a cylindrical, partially submerged offshore drilling and production platform that is particularly well adapted to deepwater. And the water is deep at the Aasta Hansteen discover location.

The Aasta Hansteen gas discovery -previously Luva – is situated at a depth of 1300 meters in the Vøring area, 300 kilometres from land.

The completed platform will in late autumn 2017 be towed to the offshore location, and is expected to produce first gas in late 2018.

Statoil is the operator of the field with Wintershall, OMV, and ConocoPhillips as partners.

Offshore Energy Today Staff