Special towage services to FPSO vessel Western Isles

KST provided FPSO vessel 'Western Isles' with specialized towage services

KST assisted the float-off process of Western Isles from the heavy-lift transport ship and the transport to the shipyard KeppelVerolme. The tugs also supported the drydocking and undocking process at the shipyard.

FPSO vessel Western Isles had been transported from a Cosco construction centre in China to the Netherlands for a final outfitting at the KeppelVerolme Shipyard.

A KST tow master was responsible for the co-ordination between the tugs during this special project. Prior to the start of operations, pre-meetings were held between representatives of the owners of the FPSO, Cosco, Rotterdam pilots, the dock master and port captain. All aspects of the float-off, transit to the yard and docking operations were discussed and planned.

This provided an overview of the required preparations, the actual operation and outlined responsibilities, communications and operation restrictions. One of the restrictions was the weather conditions. Due to the critical nature of the operations, weather forecasts were required for evaluating the predicted conditions.

Once the FPSO vessel Western Isles has been fully-fitted, it will be transferred to the northern sector of the UK side of the North Sea for the Western Isles oil and gas project. The vessel, which has a storage capacity of up to 400,000 barrels of oil, will be used by Dana Petroleum, a UK North Sea operator, to produce oil from the two fields called Harris and Barra located some 160 kilometres east of the Shetland Islands.