Blackford Dolphin class renewal survey

Dolphin Drilling Limited awarded the contract for the class renewal survey dry docking of their Aker H3-type semi-submersible rig to Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Ltd.

• Services: Repair & Maintenance / Fabrication & Construction
• Client: Blackford Dolphin Pte Ltd
• Project: Blackford Dolphin Class Renewal Survey
• Date Commenced: December 2013
• Date Delivered: June 2014

Our strategy for large scale projects such as this is to have early engagement with the client to integrate the project teams into a pre-arrival team to develop a sustainable plan and ensure that all materials and man-power are available prior to the arrival of the rig. We also sent several of our engineers to meet the rig on its voyage and used the time to survey the scopes of work and feed the information back to the yard, to enable us to develop the necessary work packs in advance of the rig’s arrival.

During this pre-arrival phase Harland & Wolff invested in site facilities in preparation for the rig arrival. We created an additional large pipe fabrication workshop and a mechanical outfitting shop, completely outfitted with the necessary equipment and cranage. We also provided a purpose built 2-storey project office large enough to accommodate 140 engineers and management, local to the dry dock.

The project expended circa 1.4 million man-hours with upward of 1000 personnel on site at the peak working 24/7 shift pattern, including over the Christmas Holiday period.

The main workscope for the rig was a Special Periodic Survey (SPS) which was required prior to commencing its next contract in the North Sea area. The survey included the replacement of over 3000m of pipe, of which 700m was in the Ballast Tanks, and the fabrication/installation of over 300 tonnes of structural steel, throughout the rig. Also the fabrication and installation of a new deck in one of the columns to support a new Rig Air Compressor and Dryer complete with the electrical, mechanical, piping and HVAC installation and integration with the rig system.