Maersk drilling rig set for new life as offshore hotel

A 147-room hotel module is set to be mounted on the Maersk Guardian jack-up rig. According to Semco Maritime, a company doing the job, this will mark the completion of a major conversion of the upcoming hotel rig. The work is expected to be wrapped up on Wednesday.

The company said that the turnkey accommodation module with 147 chambers and appertaining facilities for accommodation rig Maersk Guardian is now being prepared for final installation just eight months after the order was placed in December 2015.

The module, which has been built and outfitted by Semco Maritime and its collaboration partner Energomontaż-Północ from Gdynia, Poland, was loaded onto a barge last week to be sailed to Frederikshavn, Denmark. Here the 1,200-ton module will be lifted and installed on board Maersk Guardian by a floating crane, which arrived from Kiel, Germany, on Tuesday.

According to Semco Maritime Vice President Nikolaj Vejlgaard, Semco Martime has never constructed an accommodation block of this size before.

“The heavy lifting marks the final and intense part of the project, where the modules are to be installed and hooked up on the rig. Combined with additional modifications of the rig performed simultaneously with the module construction, the former jack-up rig can now be approved and used as a hotel rig.”

The company ended by stating that due to the short deadline for delivery, Semco utilized its shipyard-in-a-box concept by relocating rig engineers to where the work is within few hours or days, depending on the assignment or geographical location.

Built in 1986 in Japan, the Maersk Guardian is designed for year-round operation in the North Sea in areas where the water depth is up to 107 meters. The hull of the rig is 90 m long, and 84,4 m wide, and the leg length is 132 meters.

Once, the rig had been used for drilling, but now it is set to start a new life as an accommodation unit. Starting September 2016, the rig is expected begin its contract with Maersk Oil, which will use the Maersk Guardian for in the Danish part of the North Sea. The firm contract duration is 5 years. Also, the contract includes two 1-year options. The estimated contract value for the firm period is $142 million.

Offshore Energy Today Staff