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Displaying items by tag: Oil Rig

#OilRig - Tugboats from Smit Salvage have tugged the 17,000-tonne Transocean Winner free during high water levels and will be taken Broad Bay on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland until it can be transported to a repair facility.

 
The Transocean Winner ran aground on the Isle of Lewis off Scotland’s west coast on August 8, after breaking its tow lines in high winds during transportation from Norway to Malta.
 
The Smit Salvage teams tugged the boat free during high water levels on Monday night.
 
The 17,000-tonne semi-submersible rig will be towed to Broad Bay on Lewis and will remain there until it is in a stable and fit condition to be towed or transported to a suitable repair facility.
 
For much more on the efforts to refloat the oil platform, click here
Published in News Update

#OilRig - BBC News reports that a 17,000-tonne oil rig has run aground at Scotland's Outer Hebrides after storm-force winds battered the area on Monday (8 August).

The drilling platform Transocean Winner was under tow when it was blown onto the beach at Dalmore in the north of the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Western Isles, more than 300km north of Malin Head.

No personnel were on board the rig at the time, but due to the presence of significant quantities of diesel on board, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is keeping watch for any potential pollution hazard.

BBC News has much more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
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#ByfordDolphin - Oil rig Byford Dolphin finally arrived in Belfast for her refit at the weekend, spelling a significant jobs boost for the city's port.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the contract to dry-dock and survey the rig – sister to the Blackford Dolphin that the city hosted last year – was announced earlier this month.

Formerly a visitor to Belfast Lough herself for repairs back in 2004, the Byford Dolphin could provide for as many as 1,000 jobs at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, according to the News Letter – which has more on the story HERE.

Published in Belfast Lough

#OilRig- As previously reported a giant offshore drilling platform standing 360ft high has made its way from Brazil to Northern Ireland for maintenance, before being redeployed to the North Sea.

The Belfast Telegraph which has more on this story writes that this is one of the biggest oil rigs ever to be refurbished at Harland & Wolff shipyard and was towed at a snail's pace across the Atlantic to Belfast, taking more than three months to get here.

The shipyard's landmark yellow gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, have had to be moved along their tracks to the city end of the building dock for the 60-day duration of the refurbishment contract.

 

Published in Belfast Lough

#Harland&Wolff – Harland & Wolff's landmark iconic cranes are to be relocated due to the refit of a massive oil rig which will act as the city's unofficial Christmas tree, bedecked with lights, as it towers over the harbour estate in a repair deal worth tens of millions of pounds.

The mammoth Blackford Dolphin oil drilling rig, originally built in 1974 in Norway, will be upgraded and repaired in the firm's 556m x 93m main building dock, starting in November for approximately 50 days.

The Aker H-3 rig underwent a major upgrade from 2006 to 2008, when Harland & Wolff designed and built accommodation blocks, power generation module, mud room and additional buoyancy.

For more on this story The Belfast Telegraph reports.

 

Published in Belfast Lough

RORC Fastnet Race

This race is both a blue riband international yachting fixture and a biennial offshore pilgrimage that attracts crews from all walks of life:- from aspiring sailors to professional crews; all ages and all professions. Some are racing for charity, others for a personal challenge.

For the world's top professional sailors, it is a 'must-do' race. For some, it will be their first-ever race, and for others, something they have competed in for over 50 years! The race attracts the most diverse fleet of yachts, from beautiful classic yachts to some of the fastest racing machines on the planet – and everything in between.

The testing course passes eight famous landmarks along the route: The Needles, Portland Bill, Start Point, the Lizard, Land’s End, the Fastnet Rock, Bishop’s Rock off the Scillies and Plymouth breakwater (now Cherbourg for 2021 and 2023). After the start in Cowes, the fleet heads westward down The Solent, before exiting into the English Channel at Hurst Castle. The finish for 2021 is in Cherbourg via the Fastnet Rock, off the southern tip of Ireland.

  • The leg across the Celtic Sea to (and from) the Fastnet Rock is known to be unpredictable and challenging. The competitors are exposed to fast-moving Atlantic weather systems and the fleet often encounter tough conditions
  • Flawless decision-making, determination and total commitment are the essential requirements. Crews have to manage and anticipate the changing tidal and meteorological conditions imposed by the complex course
  • The symbol of the race is the Fastnet Rock, located off the southern coast of Ireland. Also known as the Teardrop of Ireland, the Rock marks an evocative turning point in the challenging race
  • Once sailors reach the Fastnet Rock, they are well over halfway to the finish in Cherbourg.

Fastnet Race - FAQs

The 49th edition of the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, UK on Sunday 8th August 2021.

The next two editions of the race in 2021 and 2023 will finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin at the head of the Normandy peninsula, France

Over 300. A record fleet is once again anticipated for the world's largest offshore yacht race.

The international fleet attracts both enthusiastic amateur, the seasoned offshore racer, as well as out-and-out professionals from all corners of the world.

Boats of all shapes, sizes and age take part in this historic race, from 9m-34m (30-110ft) – and everything in between.

The Fastnet Race multihull course record is: 1 day 4 hours 2 minutes and 26 seconds (2019, Ultim Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Franck Cammas / Charles Caudrelier)

The Fastnet Race monohull course record is: 1 day, 18 hours, 39 minutes (2011, Volvo 70, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing).

David and Peter Askew's American VO70 Wizard won the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race, claiming the Fastnet Challenge Cup for 1st in IRC Overall.

Rolex SA has been a longstanding sponsor of the race since 2001.

The first race was in 1925 with 7 boats. The Royal Ocean Racing Club was set up as a result.

The winner of the first Fastnet Race was the former pilot cutter Jolie Brise, a boat that is still sailing today.

Cork sailor Henry P F Donegan (1870-1940), who gave his total support for the Fastnet Race from its inception in 1925 and competed in the inaugural race in his 43ft cutter Gull from Cork.

Ireland has won the Fastnet Race twice. In 1987 the Dubois 40 Irish Independent won the Fastnet Race overall for the first time and then in 2007 – all of twenty years after Irish Independent’s win – Ireland secured the overall win again this time thanks to Ger O’Rourke’s Cookson 50 Chieftain from the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland in Kilrush.

©Afloat 2020

Fastnet Race 2023 Date

The 2023 50th Rolex Fastnet Race will start on Saturday, 22nd July 2023

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At A Glance – Fastnet Race

  • The world's largest offshore yacht race
  • The biennial race is 695 nautical miles - Cowes, Fastnet Rock, Cherbourg
  • A fleet of over 400 yachts regularly will take part
  • The international fleet is made up of over 26 countries
  • Multihull course record: 1 day, 8 hours, 48 minutes (2011, Banque Populaire V)
  • Monohull course record: 1 day, 18 hours, 39 minutes (2011, Volvo 70, Abu Dhabi)
  • Largest IRC Rated boat is the 100ft (30.48m) Scallywag 100 (HKG)
  • Some of the Smallest boats in the fleet are 30 footers
  • Rolex SA has been a longstanding sponsor of the race since 2001
  • The first race was in 1925 with 7 boats. The Royal Ocean Racing Club was set up as a result.

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