Safeway passes 10,000 safe people transfers for Total in the Danish North Sea

Between March 2019 and March 2020, one of the unique Safeway motion compensated offshore access systems of the Dutch Van Aalst Group completed over 10,000 safe personnel transfers for Total E&P Denmark AS (“Total”) during the redevelopment campaign of the Tyra field in the North Sea about 220 km offshore of the west coast of Denmark.

The Tyra Field is the largest gas condensate field in the Danish Sector. It was discovered in 1968 and production started in 1984. The Tyra platforms have been at the core of Denmark’s energy infrastructure for 30 years, processing 90% of the nation’s natural gas production. As the responsible energy major, Total is investing more than 3 billion Euro to redevelop Tyra into a high-tech field to support Denmark and Europe’s transition towards a low-carbon energy future. The vision for Total’s climate strategy is to mitigate climate change issues while meeting energy demands. The Tyra Redevelopment Project is an important part of realizing that vision. In fact, Total expects that the redeveloped Tyra will reduce 30% of CO2 emissions, 90% of flaring, and improve overall operational energy efficiency.

For the campaign, Safeway has been commissioned to install for one year plus options a 28 meter long walk-to-work Seagull-type gangway system on the Siddis Mariner offshore service vessel, to allow personnel and their tools a safe and direct access to the following Tyra platforms: ROAR, Valdemar-BA, Valdemar-AA, Valdemar-AB, Tyra south-east, Svend, Harald and Tyra east.

Remarkable score in reducing costs

The transfer operations proved a remarkable score in reducing costs where the innovative and advanced control system of the Safeway Seagull could reach low and high landing points on the Tyra platforms without any modifications. This is due to the standard 10 m vertical height adjustment of the gangway which can land horizontally at any desired height within a minute, ruling out unsafe uphill or downhill walking. This ‘zero impact bumpering’ or ‘hover mode’ with a retractable stair mounted at the tip of the gangway, enables any vessel to freely choose its heading during operations without being restricted to the position of access gates at one of the Tyra platforms. This was invaluable to the project as several of the unmanned platforms did not have bumper points preinstalled. The feature is an absolute ‘game changer’ in the international gangway industry, offering a degree of flexibility previously unseen.

The Safeway’s Seagull step change roll compensation mast technology is another remarkable feature of the system, bringing year-round workability in North Sea conditions, while the Seagull is also ideally suited for W2W operations in rough weather conditions. Ejvind Olldag, Total’s Marine Superintendent on the Tyra Redevelopment Project confirmed:

We have never worked before with a walk-to-work system that can be lifted vertically and my experience is quite positive. The gangway is working great, allowing us to man platforms up to our set weather restriction criteria, the operators are doing a great job transferring our people in a safe and efficient manner. Once the operators became accustomed to our platforms, the connection time and transfer speeds increased substantially. They also give a comprehensive briefing to newcomers and are involved in the daily toolbox meetings prior to transfer. According to our technicians, they feel quite comfortable walking 20 meters above sea level from the vessel to the platform in a totally covered construction.

Wijnand van Aalst, CEO at Safeway, said:

At Safeway we are proud and thankful that a highly valued customer and worldwide player such as Total has put their trust in Safeway for the supply of the fully overhead covered and weather-proof, telescopic motion-compensated Seagull gangway. We look forward to a continued collaboration with Total.

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