Expert navigation and a steady hand were required when the crew of Port Taranaki tug Tuakana tackled a monster job during autumn.
Tuakana helped remove the 19,000-tonne Valaris 249 jack-up rig from the Maūi B gas field off Taranaki, and load it onto a heavy lift vessel for transportation to its next job in the Caribbean.
Along with offshore supply vessels Skandi Emerald and MMA Vision, Tuakana was first tasked with safely towing the 94m long and 92m wide rig to Admiralty Bay, in the Marlborough Sounds.
“There was quite a big swell at Maūi B, which made the initial preparation a bit challenging,” says Tuakana master Joe Govier.
“But the three vessels did a great job – Skandi Emerald pulled the Valaris away from the platform, and the MMA Vision and Tuakana pulled on either side to hold it steady while the legs were jacked clear of the sea bed.”
While Skandi Emerald did the main towing to Admiralty Bay, Tuakana remained connected to the rig in case of an emergency.
“The trip took 30 hours and went really well – it was a beautiful trip down there,” says Joe.
Once the rig was in place, Tuakana then anchored in a sheltered bay as they awaited suitable weather conditions to carefully load the rig onto the 224m long semi-submersible Blue Marlin – a job that required precision navigation and a bit of engineering wizardry.
“The main deck of the Blue Marlin submerges and then the rig is carefully steered into position over the vessel. We were on the starboard aft, and pretty much steered the rig, and then pulled and pushed to hold it in position and bring it to the vessel.
“It was brought to within about 50m of the vessel and then ropes were connected from the Blue Marlin to the rig and it was winched into position over the submerged deck – there was just 600mm clearance between the top of the vessel deck and the bottom of the rig.
“Once in position, the Blue Marlin was deballasted so that the deck rose and cleared the water, and the rig sat in place on the deck. It was then welded into place for the journey,” Joe says.
“It was definitely out of our normal scope of work, but it was great to see an operation with such massive equipment completed with such precision.”
All up, the Tuakana and her crew of Joe, mates Neil Armitage and Jack Cameron, and engineers Michael James and Ashley Clough spent 18 days at sea.
“You get to know your crewmates pretty well when you spend 18 days on a 30m vessel living in each others’ pockets,” laughs Joe, who’s just clocked up 15 years working at Port Taranaki.
“But we had a good crew and all got on well – we all had our watches to do, and maintenance during the day, so we were busy.
“We all took our turns cooking, and the boys did a bit of fishing over the side, which supplemented the odd meal – a bit of blue cod and gurnard.
“It was a long trip, but it was a good experience.”
Port Taranaki marine manager Ben Martin says the crew did an exceptional job.
“The job was completed well and safely. The team pulled out all the stops – a couple of the guys deferred leave and most of the crew worked over their off time as well, so everyone definitely put their hand up to get the job done for the company, which was fantastic,” he says.
