You landlubbers can't deny
That when a ship sails in with an itty, bitty tug
And a round thing in your....ahem.....um...sorry,
From gCaptain:
A new offshore lifting world record has been set with the installation of the final topsides in first phase of the Johan Sverdrup field development project in the North Sea.There's a bit of a cult coalescing around this ship.
The final two platform topsides were installed using none other than the heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit, which installed the topsides utilizing the vessel’s unique single-lift capability.
The installation of the nearly 26,000-metric-ton processing platform set a new record as the heaviest lift ever completed offshore. The record-setting lift was carried out on Tuesday morning in only four hours with a clearance of just 25 meters from other installations at the field center.
The lifting of the utility and living quarters topside, at 18,000 tonnes, was completed early Friday morning in just 3.5 hours. The entire operation, from lifting the processing platform to releasing the lifting quarters, took less than 72 hours to complete.
At the same time, the heavy lift vessel Thialf was busy installing the final flare stack and the bridge that links the processing platform to the drilling platform. The final bridge connecting the utility and living quarters topside to the rest of the field centre will be installed next....MUCH MORE, including video, pics
We last looked at it when it was laying pipe for the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline:
Belt and Road (and Tunnel): "€15bn Chinese funding deal for Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel"
...Here's the ridiculously large ship being used to lay pipe further west, in Swedish waters:
The Pioneering Spirit is basically two oil tankers strapped together with a deck thrown across the top.
We've featured it a few times but with this view I'm trying to judge if it is larger than the amusement pier in:
The Financial Times' Izabella Kaminska Examines Seasteading and Is Bemused
More accurately, she comes down on the concept somewhere between bemused and dubious.
We've looked at the idea of islands or ships full of geeks, nerds and billionaire geek/nerds a few times over the years:
Oops that's Brighton Pier by Landscape Photographer of the Year, 2017 finalist Matt Cooper via Geographical.
How embarrassing, the roller coaster should have been a tip-off.
Here's Izabella. I'll go look for the intended picture....MORE
Sorry, bit of free association there.It then went to Rotterdam for a bath, reported by
Offshore Magazine
Pioneering Spirit departing Baltic Sea for topsides work
Marine Logistics Professional:
Pioneering Spirit Arrives Rotterdam
Marine Technology News"
Pioneering Spirit Gets a Scrub Down
