June 13 - Mammoet has completed the load-in of Shell's 24,000-tonne Brent Delta platform at the Able UK decommissioning yard in Hartlepool, UK for Allseas.
The Brent Delta platform was removed earlier this year by Allseas' Pioneering Spirit before it was transferred to the purpose-built cargo barge Iron Lady, with assistance from towage operator Kotug International, and towed to the decommissioning yard in the north east of England, as HLPFI reported here.
Mammoet had previously installed its skidding system on Iron Lady, which it claims saved operational time at the decommissioning yard and increased both safety and actual skidding time, which ultimately took nine hours.
In total, Mammoet deployed 436 skid tracks, 64 skid shoes and 36 push-pull units to bring the platform onto shore where it will be dismantled during the next 12 to 18 months, with at least 97 percent of the platform being recycled and used for other purposes.
According to Mammoet, the platform is the largest to have ever been retrieved for decommissioning and is the heaviest to have been brought onto shore in one piece. The project, which required more than five years of preparation, also required a new quay to be constructed at Able Seaton Port to facilitate the arrival of the platform.
