Murmansk Branch News

Pilots of the Murmansk Branch carry out complicated pilot operations in the seaport of Murmansk

In the night of June 23, 2020 pilots of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Murmansk Branch carried out pilot operations to discharge, tow and put onto supports the ORIENTAL DISCOVERY floating drill rig (the flag of Panama) at Berth No. 9 in the seaport of Murmansk from the HLV XIN GUARG HUA (the flag of Hong Kong).

Four tugboats were used to tow, discharge and put onto supports the ORIENTAL DISCOVERY floating drill rig. It took 10 hours to carry out these operations.

Next day, June 24, 2020, pilots of the Murmansk Branch carried out operations to discharge the NAN HAI JIU HAO semi-submersible drill rig (the flag of China) from the HLV XIN GUARG HUA (the flag of Hong Kong), tow and unfasten it in four anchors on the southern roadstead of the seaport of Murmansk.

In addition to four port’s tugboats, this operation also involved two cargo tugboats for the platform’s anchoring. It took 17 hours to carry out all operations to discharge, tow and unfasten anchors.

The complexity of the pilot operations, which were expertly carried out by the  pilots of the Murmansk Branch, was conditioned by the use of non-propelled crafts of considerable dimensions and nonstandard configuration. Such crafts have great windage. Thus, the height of supports of the ORIENTAL DISCOVERY floating drill rig is almost 167 meters, and its breadth and length exceed 70 meters. The length of the NAN HAI JIU HAO drill rig is almost 100 meters, its breadth is 88 meters and the maximal height is 115 meters. While carrying out all operations it was necessary to put the facilities in a designated place with pinpoint accuracy. In case of the NAN HAI JIU HAO drill rig it was necessary to hold it by means of the port’s tugboats until supply vessels made handling of four anchoring systems.

The ORIENTAL DISCOVERY and the NAN HAI JIU HAO drill rigs, which have been carried to the seaport of Murmansk for supply support and crew relief, will be towed off to the Kara Sea in the first decade of July to put them in places of destination.