On December 3, the Noble Regina Allen (400′ ILC) jackup tipped over while under construction at Jurong Shipyard, injuring 89 workers. The rig is being built for Noble Corporation.
China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore has been told to temporarily suspend the construction of as many as four jackup rigs as a result of the December 3 accident at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore that left 89 workers injured.
Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore said Monday that the company received a letter from Friede & Goldman, Ltd. (F&G) ordering the suspension of construction on rigs being built for Prospector Offshore Drilling S.A. pending testing and an investigation into the Singapore accident. F&G is the naval engineering firm responsible for the design of the jacking system on the rig that tilted over while under construction at Jurong Shipyard last Monday.
DSIC-Offshore said that prior to the request, the company was already looking into the jacking systems of the F&G designed rigs as they had previously experienced issues with some of the components. The company says, however, that the component issues are believed to be limited in scope and had no relation to the accident at Jurong.
Prospector Offshore Drilling S.A. has a total of four rigs under construction at DSIC-Offshore. The first rig, PROSPECTOR 1, was originally expected to be delivered at the end of January 2013 and mobilized to the North Sea for a long term drilling contract. It is unclear if the suspension will have any impact on the delivery date of rig until the evaluation of the jacking system is completed. The testing is expected to be conducted over the next few weeks.
“We appreciate the prudent steps taken by F&G and DSIC-Offshore to ensure safe delivery of a very high quality drilling unit conforming to our specifications and the highest industry standards,” said Bill Rose, President and CEO of Prospector Offshore Drilling S.A. “The F&G JU2000E jack-up is a proven design and has operated in the areas like the North Sea, and we expect a quick resolution.”
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