Ampelmann

Marine personnel transfer for Shell in Brunei

Brunei Shell Petroleum is operating over 200 platforms off the coast of Brunei in the South Chinese Sea. The platforms are typically accessed by marine transfer: small boats sail from port to perform crew changes on a daily basis. In most cases, crew transfers from the vessels to the offshore platforms using the swing rope. The benign conditions of the South Chinese Sea allow for this method of access as wave intensity is very mild and ship motions are small. These swing rope operations are limited to maximum wave heights of about 1.5m.

The Ampelmann offers the opportunity to transfer crew without the cumbersome and sometimes dangerous operation of installing a fixed gangway or using a swing rope.

Belait Shipping, owner of the Belait Barakah, arranged the Ampelmann system to be shipped to Brunei to give a demonstration of the system on their new-built DP2 vessel Belait Barakah.

Shell operators gathering on transfer deck

 

The goals of the demonstration were the following:

• show the combination of a DP2 vessel and Ampelmann to add flexibility during work-over activities
• increase weather window for safe transfer
• demonstrate easy connection to several platforms without installing expensive landing stations
• show that the Ampelmann can be used to transfer up to 60 crew in a safe, easy and fast way
• prove that the Ampelmann can also be used for platform evacuation

 

The Ampelmann was to be tested on the largest offshore complex in the Far East: the Champion Field off the coast of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

The demonstration of access to platforms in the Brunei area proved a success. The Ampelmann was installed on the Belait Barakah in 2 days and was operational in the Brunei sector performing 170 landings on 3 locations with a total of 730 transfers in 16 operational days. No major adaptation to the platforms was required: only removal of hand railings. The Ampelmann could land crew within 15 minutes of arriving near a platform. An evacuation drill showed that the system is capable of transferring 45 crew members in 10 minutes.

Evacuation drill - high speed