DUBAI, 24th September, 2013 (WAM) -- Drydocks World, the internationally established and recognised maritime service provider today announced that H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Group, has attended a ?sail away? ceremony marking the commencement of delivery of the pioneering Prelude FLNG Turret Modules to the owner, SHELL. The turret will be integrated in the world's first floating liquefied natural gas facility in the Prelude offshore field.
The first Module, the bogie support structure, standing 22 metres high, with a diameter of 30 metres and weighing 1,300 tonnes, will be transported to Korea to integrate with the Prelude FLNG vessel. Other modules will soon follow. The Prelude FLNG unit will be 488-metres long and when fully loaded will weigh more than 600,000 tonnes. It will be the largest structure ever sent to sea, displacing as much water as a fleet of six aircraft carriers. The vessel is to work at the Prelude offshore field 200 km from the Australian coast. The turret for Prelude FLNG is the biggest turret ever built, and over 800 workers are engaged in its construction. The turret is being built in five modules which when put together will weigh in at 10,500 tons. The first steel cutting took place on May 5th, 2012. The nearly 100-metre mooring turret is a vital element of the vessel and along with four groups of mooring chains and suction pile anchors, will constitute the largest system in the world and help the vessel to remain stable in high velocity tropical cyclone territory. Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Drydocks World and Maritime World, said, "It is our proud privilege to welcome Sheikh Ahmed on this prestigious occasion. We are extremely excited to be part of a new era in offshore gas liquefaction which will lead the way for many new and challenging projects in the years to come. The turret is essentially the heart of the mooring system and is an engineering challenge which needed to be executed with great technical precision. It is a testimony to our enduring engineering capabilities and project management skills that we have achieved this on time and by adhering to the highest possible standards in safety, quality and environment. The project involved meticulous planning and technical finesse in implementation and we have succeeded in raising the bar in Operational Excellence through this project.""Such projects help us to take forward a process of changing mind sets and provide new challenges for the future. It helps us exemplify the driving thought behind the undying "Can Do" spirit of Dubai which has formed the basis for our business and strategic outlook," he added.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.
