Best quarter ever for Bollard Pulls

Text: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

“It's shaping up to be a very good year,” says operations manager Leif Steinar Simonsen at Farmar.

The company assists the operations with the crane vessel FFS Amon and a crew of three. They have a load cell with them, which is connected to the cable and shows how many tons the boat is pulling.

ALL VESSELS that deal with anchor handling and “rig moves” are required to check their traction every ten years. This is also something some customers demand ahead of major jobs.

Kjeholmen in Stolsfjorden outside Flekkefjord is considered one of Europe's best places for conducting such Bollard Pulls.

“There are hardly any tidal currents here, and the area is not very exposed to wind,” says Simonsen.

THE WIRE IS ATTACHED to a specially mounted bollard and stretched as far as 1500 meters out into the fjord. The traction on the boats being tested usually ranges between 120 and 260 tons. However, the load cell is certified to measure traction up to 400 tons.

“The boats that come here are mainly anchor handling vessels, most of them between 50 and 70 meters long. The last vessel we had here was Dutch. But we get boats from all over Northern Europe, and many of them come back,” explains Simonsen.

THE DURATION OF the actual bollard pull can vary from a quarter of an hour to two days.

“In addition, there are always some preparations beforehand. Among other things, we have a toolbox talk with the crew on board the boat that is going to be tested. So, the entire operation takes at least four hours,” Simonsen says.

Farmar can handle requests for bollard pulls on short notice. And although activity has been high this spring, the company has the capacity to accommodate more test objects in Stolsfjorden.

“We absolutely do. Provided that FFS Amon is available, we can be ready in just a few hours,” says Simonsen.