Heerema Marine Contractor’s (HMC) crane vessel Thialf left the Tombua Landana site in Angola after a successful installation. The Tombua Landana project for DSME/Chevron comprised the installation of a Compliant Tower and Topsides in a water depth of 370 m in Block 14, 50 miles offshore Cabinda.

The foundation piles used in the project are the longest installed to date, fabricated by Heerema’s Fabrication Yard in Flushing, the Netherlands. The maximum length measured 190 meters (624 ft).

In phase 1 (January / February 2008) of the project HMC installed the foundation components of the Compliant Tower with another of its vessels, the Semi Submersible Crane Vessel Hermod. The foundation consisted of a 500 t Leveling Pile template, 4 Leveling Piles (84 inch diameter, length 450 ft, 315 t each), a 3,000 t Tower Base Template and 12 Foundation Piles (108 inch diameter, length 625 ft, 850 t each).

The execution of this project, originally intended for the Thialf, proved a major challenge as installation of the Tower Base Template and foundation piles reached the maximum capacity of the Hermod’s cranes.

In phase 2 (December 2008) the Thialf carried out the installation of the 30,000 t Tower Bottom Section, the Tower Top Section and the four platform modules consisting of the Module Support Frame, the Central Module, the West Module and the East Module.

In only one week's time the four topside modules with a total weight of almost 30,000 t were placed on top of a tower as tall as the Empire State Building.

The various parts of the tower and platform were built in six yards spread all over the globe. Heerema Fabrication Group has delivered the giant template and the world’s longest foundation piles for the tower. HMC used five of its cargo barges, one Crowley barge, two Heavy Transport Vessels and a total of eight tugs in the course of the project.

Tags: Heerema Marine Contractors