Wilhemsen Ships Service providing support to Australia’s largest oil and gas project

Wilhelmsen Ships Service is providing a range of support services to the Gorgon project, Australia’s largest ever oil and gas project. Services include the importation of dredgers and project cargo shipments. The company is also providing agency and logistics support to the offshore accommodation vessel MS Finnmarken which houses a 350-strong workforce for the project.

Operated by Hurtigruten, the Finnmarken is a Norwegian owned cruise vessel, whose on board residents are mainly dredging crew. The vessel is moored near to Barrow Island which is the site of the Gorgon Project’s gas plant construction. The key advantage of accommodating the workers offshore is that it reduces the environmental impact of the project by removing the need to accommodate these workers on Barrow Island itself, which is a ‘Class A’ nature reserve.

“Wilhelmsen Ships Service is providing a wide range of capabilities across all of our business streams,” explains Nicholas Berry, Account Manager for Wilhelmsen Ships Service in Australia. “Supporting the Finnmarken is the most significant ongoing work we’ve had on the project to date.”

The scope of work handled for Hurtigruten by the company includes making advance arrangements for berthing, unberthing and arranging timely booking of port services to optimise berthing and sailing windows. Wilhelmsen Ships Service also appoints linesmen and any other port services as required, assists with Customs, quarantine and security requirements, and arranges and liaises with surveyors as required by the customer, including P&I surveys.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service additionally books stevedore labourers and liaises with stevedores during discharge operations, and ensures payment of port disbursements and arranges rental of equipment required by Hurtigruten from third party suppliers. The company obtains and arranges safe dispatch of stores and supplies, effects repairs and engages third party contractors. It also arranges delivery of cash to the Master when required and sees to crew change assistance for the Hurtigruten crew and ensures a smooth delivery of spare parts on board, including its clearance and transportation. Coordination of bunkering operations is also handled by Wilhelmsen Ships Service.

The Gorgon Project is developing the Greater Gorgon Area gas fields, located about 130 kilometres off the north-west coast of Western Australia. It includes the construction of a 15 million tonne per annum LNG plant on Barrow Island and a domestic gas plant with the capacity to provide 300 terajoules per day to supply gas to Western Australia. Gorgon LNG will be offloaded via a four kilometre long loading jetty for transport to international markets. The domestic gas will be piped to the Western Australian mainland.

Photo: MS Finnmarken courtesy Cruise Norway

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