Heerema has announced that last month its deepwater construction vessel, Balder, completed the offshore removal of the Morpeth Tension-leg Platform (TLP) on behalf of client Eni US Operating Company.
The Balder vessel, constructed in Japan in 1978, is 154 metres long and 86 metres wide with a draft of 36 feet (which can be increased to 82 feet when ballast water is taken in). It is capable of a tandem lift of 4,000t and working within water depths from 70 feet and beyond.
Balder mobilised to the Morpeth Field in mid-April to begin executing the removal of the TLP. The campaign involved the engineering, preparation, removal, and disposal of the offshore infrastructure. The removal consisted of the 2,650 short-ton topside, 2,500 short-ton hull, and 1,300 short-tons of tendons and piles.
Following the successful removal of the components, the topside was transported by barge, the tendons and piles on supply vessels, and the hull wet towed for recycling at MARS (Modern American Recycling Services) facilities at various US locations.
This project was the first TLP removal campaign for Heerema and adds another successful decommissioning project to Heerema’s portfolio, following a record-breaking 2020 that saw the company remove 85,277 metric tons of decommissioned structures in one year.
