December 16 - Vietnam's first jack-up rig was successfully loaded-out and floated off to sea by heavy transport and lifting company, ALE.
ALE completed the load-out and float-off of the 9,020 tonne drilling rig in Vung Tau Vietnam.
Watched closely and monitored by government officials including the country's prime minister, the project was a major milestone for Vietnam where the rig was fabricated.
ALE's scope of work for the project included the design and engineering for skid beams and skidshoes, load-out equipment including strand jacks and external ballast system, and a semi submersible barge and main tug.
The project was completed by skidding the jack-up rig to the quayside using ALE's skid system. To enable the load-out onto the barge an external ballast system and equipment including strand jacks were utilised.
The semi submersible barge transported the rig to its required float-off location where the barge was submersed to allow for the float-off. All marine engineering required was carried out by ALE's specialist Marine Engineering Division.
Russ Jones project manager at ALE said: "We are pleased to have completed this project as it is the first Vietnamese fabricated jack-up rig to be installed offshore in Vietnam, the project was closely watched by senior officials. This project also combined the expertise of 3 ALE divisions, the ALE engineers alongside engineers from our specialist ALE Marine Engineering Division, and ALE Offshore Services."
