Curtain falls on 2024 lift season

Conductors to wind substations, mini jackets to record-weight topsides, the 2024 heavy lift season has kept us busy! Without doubt, the highlight is the removal and transport of the fourth and final iconic Brent topsides – Charlie. Weighing 31,000 tonnes, its single lift in July represents another milestone for the offshore industry.

After 8 years of service, Allseas bids farewell to its trusty test platform. Following last week’s removal by Pioneering Spirit on route to Rotterdam, the topsides and jacket have been transferred to a third-party barge in the Alexiahaven for tow to the Sagro Decom yard in Vlissingen for disposal.

The test platform topsides was the first structure to be installed and removed using Pioneering Spirit’s Topsides Lift System (TLS) during offshore tests in August 2016. Originally booked into the North Sea’s K13 field – 50 kilometres north of Den Helder – for a short stay, it remained in situ and has been used repeatedly over the years to fine-tune the vessel’s lift systems.

Now, with the final lift of 2024 safely completed, attention turns to further modifications as part of the ongoing upgrade to increase Pioneering Spirit’s TLS capacity to 60,000 tonnes.