Shell plating after repair from inside aft peak tank (photo: Harris Pye)

Timing is all-important when repairs to a busy drillship are the order of the day. When Pacific International Drilling West Africa’s (PIDWAL) drillship Pacific Bora suffered damage to the starboard aft hull off the coast of Nigeria, PIDWAL called for assistance from the Harris Pye Engineering Group.

The repair was successfully evaluated; all necessary specialists and labour, steel, tools and equipment were mobilised; and the repair was made, installed, painted and tested in less than two weeks of the Harris Pye team boarding the Pacific Bora (PBA).

The Harris Pye team of one supervisor and three highly trained specialist tradesmen boarded the rig on 3 May offshore Nigeria, and sailed with it to the calm waters offshore Malabo, Equatorial Guinea where the work was successfully undertaken, and the Harris Pye crew disembarked on 16 May.

“We studied the repair scope, and put together a method statement to perform the repair work while the rig is afloat to avoid any dry docking and other cofferdam and divers cost, in order to bring the PBA back to 100% operability in under two weeks,” explains Chris David, Chief Technical Officer, of the global engineering group.

“PIDWAL had put together a task risk assessment for trimming the rig by forward, to maintain the dented portion 2.1m above water to enable us to proceed with the repair. They also provided all tools and consumables for the repair works, including the overhanging/ overboard scaffolding, so there were no delays due to customs holdups. The steel plate and rubbing bar for the repair were purchased by Harris Pye UK; and freight was handled by PIDWAL,” continues David.

David adds, “All repair works were performed to the satisfaction of the attending ABS surveyor and Pacific Bora was ready to get back to work. We wish her and her crew success and would like to thank them for making our time aboard so productive.”

“PIDWAL has an array of registered in-country and overseas fabrication/welding vendors on the company’s vendor management system however with the repair scope and the possible risk involved in the hull repair, we had to scrutinise for a vendor that could deliver on time and on budget,” explains Adebo Oladipo, Assistant Rig Manager, Pacific Bora.

“We were sceptical initially because we weren’t sure of Harris Pye’s experience working off the coast of Nigeria however discussions with several PIDWAL employees that have had previous relationships with Harris Pye, instilled the needed confidence.”

Tags: Harris Pye Group, Pacific International Drilling West Africa