Unique Seaflex, a Unique Maritime Group company, which is one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers were recently contacted by Saipem in Portugal who were looking to urgently conduct a 550t load test on a derrick barge located at Point Noire in the Congo. With 100t of solid weights in hand, they required an additional 450t to complete the test.
Established in 1987, and now operating out of purpose-built premises in Cowes, UK, Unique Seaflex is a world-leading manufacturer of air-filled bags for salvage and installation operations and of water-filled bags for testing or ballasting purposes. Acquired by Unique Maritime Group in 2011, Unique Seaflex continues to extend its global reach and now has a presence and a stock-position on every continent bar Antarctica - including most of the main oil and gas markets around the world.
Saipem is a large, international and one of the best balanced turnkey contractors in the oil & gas industry. It has a strong bias towards oil and gas related activities in remote areas and deepwater and is a leader in the provision of engineering, procurement, project management and construction services with distinctive capabilities in the design and the execution of large-scale offshore and onshore projects, and technological competencies such as gas monetization and heavy oil exploitation.
The immediacy of the requirement demanded a swift response from the supply chain, especially given the total absence of any suitable equipment within the local market. Unique Seaflex were the only company able to provide a quantity of thirteen 35t WaterLoad test bags plus accessories (manifolds, hoses etc) on a rental basis within the required timescales, so avoiding Saipem incurring un-necessary and expensive barge downtime as they waited for the test to take place.
The equipment package was flown down from the UK to the Congo, where it was met by an experienced Unique Seaflex technician with a BOSIET ticket who was able to assist Saipem’s crew with the rigging and the safe and efficient use of the WaterLoad Bags in accordance with LEEA Guidance 051.
Unique Seaflex’s Global Sales Manager Chris Sparrow commented, “This is a perfect example of several unique and vitally important benefits to clients of working with Unique Seaflex on such projects. Firstly, we hold the world’s largest stock of WaterLoad bags and accessories, available for near-immediate hire or sale out of multiple worldwide locations. Secondly, all these bags have been designed, constructed, certified and tested in line with LEEA Guidance 051 so that the client can be assured that what they are getting has the necessary levels of quality and traceability to satisfy their HSE requirements and to keep their insurers happy. Thirdly, within our rental fleet we operate the most stringent test and inspection regime in the industry - which means that our clients need never fear that a set of colanders will arrive with them. And finally we are able to deploy skilled Seaflex personnel to site anywhere in the world to deliver on our support philosophy of “Whenever, Wherever”.”
