Helped in the Bideford Dolphin exit

Text: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

- "We drew up a plan for the actual towing event. Once it was approved, Farmar assisted Aton with the rigging of the towing equipment," says Leif Steinar Simonsen, Operations Manager at Farmar.

Farmar Aton has four cranes, dynamic positioning equipment and a load capacity of 200 tonnes. In May, the crane barge was used to hoist the two thrusters for the Bideford Dolphin.

- AFTER THE job was done, we have been waiting for a heavy lift vessel to come and lift the rig onto a barge. But those plans were changed. Instead, it was decided that the platform would be towed. We were then given the task of rigging the towing arrangement," says Simonsen.

On 25 June, the chains were cut and the transport of the Bideford Dolphin could begin. SPM Neel Pratap 180 from SPM Shipping is carrying out the tow. FFS Atlas was one of three tugs that assisted in moving the rig until it was out on the open sea.

BIDEFORD DOLPHIN was built in 1975 and has been in North Sea service for 40 years. It has been in storage in Stolsfjorden since 2017. But now it has reached the end of its service life and is being sent to Turkey for scrapping.

In connection with the departure, Farmar was also given the task of removing a power container that has supplied the drilling rig with electricity.

- The container was standing on a promontory nearby. We hoisted it onto the Farmar Aton and transported it to Abelnes, where it was collected by trailer. We also took the cables with us. They were broken and sent for recycling at Green Yard," says Simonsen.