Frans den Hartogh
Manager ProjectsDuring my graduation, I worked at Allseas’ Innovations Department, which, like today, consisted of many young engineers. The emphasis in that department was on developing the famous Pioneering Spirit platform installation/removal and pipelay vessel. After my graduation, I was offered a job within the same department, which I gladly accepted. Besides design and engineering, the team members are heavily involved in exhibitions and industry discussions on platform removal around the North Sea.
Several projects abroad
After about four years, I decided to move to the then Pipelay Installation Department where I learned the ins and outs of pipelaying on several North Sea projects. I was sent to the Houston office and was involved in several projects in the Gulf of Mexico, including assisting in the operations offshore on board Lorelay and Solitaire. A year later, I returned to the Netherlands and was made Lead Engineer on the exciting Snøhvit project – Allseas’ first project in the Barents Sea, above the Polar Circle.
Building a vessel in-house
When word came that Allseas was planning to build another pipelay vessel, I wanted to get back into the design discipline, so joined the engineering and construction team responsible for developing the new vessel, Audacia. We designed and built the vessel in a record-breaking two years!
Managing projects down under
When Audacia was nearly complete, I was sent to Perth; Australia was a place I’d always wanted to see and I was really keen to move down under with my wife and kids. I joined the Project Management Department in Perth, focusing on subcontractor management, client interfacing and vessel/operation management. Back in the Netherlands, I re-joined my colleagues at the Delft office and at present, I’m Manager Projects guiding a team of dedicated Project Managers.
Different environments, different departments and different continents
Having left the number crunching to the new engineers, my engineering background is of great value and is essential when working as a manager in the offshore contracting business. What’s kept me interested in working for Allseas all these years is illustrated above: being able to work in different environments, different departments and different continents, representing a company that is leading in the pipelaying business.