Summer job in the North Sea

Text: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

"We are of course very pleased to have both Arion farm and FFS Athos in work for so many weeks at a stretch. But it also means that we've had to run our third tugboat, FFS Atlas, into local assignments. We want to have at least one of our boats close to the base in Farsund at all times," says operations manager Leif Steinar Simonsen.

The job in the North Sea involves being on standby while a construction vessel carries out installation work on various platforms. If the vessel experiences engine failure or another serious incident, there could be a risk of collision. In such a situation, Farmar’s tugboats step in to push the vessel away from the platform.

EARLIER IN the summer,the tugboats were on standby duty at the Snorre A oil platform. In July, they have been on similar assignments at the Visund field, located in the Tampen area in the northern part of the North Sea.

These maintenance operations are typically completed without issues, but there is always a risk of an incident, and in such cases, the tugboats are an additional independent safety measure.

“Immediate support is needed in such situations. Our tugboats provide an extra layer of safety for everyone involved in the work,” says John W. Nilsen, General Manager of Farmar.

FARMAR HAS undergone extensive approvals in preparation for these assignments, with thorough inspections of the onboard equipment.

This is not the first time that FFS Arion and FFS Athos have been on such standby missions. Last year, the tugs were emergency response tugs in connection with a similar maintenance job on the Snorre B platform.