Removal of the remains of the Buchan Alpha oil platform has been completed in Shetland.
Ocean Kinetics was awarded the contract – worth between £1m – £1.5m – earlier this year by Veolia to clean up the 3,500 tonnes of material in water off Dales Voe.
Several huge pontoons have been removed from the site and are now on decommissioning pads in Lerwick. They will be sent away for recycling in coming months.
The job, lasting eight weeks, involved the Whalsa Lass multi-purpose vessel, along with various barges and pontoons.
Ocean Kinetics had to prepare the rig for demolition while maintaining its structural integrity and carrying out underwater repair to the pontoons.
The heaviest lift was 767tonnes using the Hebo Lift 9 crane.
Last year part of the remains of Buchan Alpha became detached from their Dales Voe berth during a heavy storm.
Ocean Kinetics managing director John Henderson said: “We are very pleased to have completed the project safely and ahead of schedule, and it is good to see Dales Voe landscape restored to its natural state.
“The project was much more than just mobilising the heavy lifting barge. We spent several weeks on preparatory work, from initial surveying, then the planning and modelling of the lifting steps.
“We then moved to the preparation of the rig for demolition while still maintaining the structural integrity. We cut away excess steel, carried out underwater repairs to the pontoons, and attached 24 lifting points each rated to 300 tonnes SWL, to allow the safe removal and placement of all pieces onshore.
“The swift and safe completion of this project – in under eight weeks – is testament to the skills and breadth of experience that we have in our team. It also demonstrates our ability to undertake other projects of this complexity, safely, on time and on budget.”
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