The project is to move a new drilling platform from the Aibel shipyard in Haugesund to the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea.

On Friday the ship had arrived at the Bømlafjord tunnel. Here stands what is said to be the largest ship in the world, the Pioneer Spirit, ready to transport the platform to the sea.

– Big and important milestones

The top of the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform is located on what is said to be the largest ship in the world.

– This is great, first of all, it marks a big and important milestone that shows that the Sverup project is on schedule. “Secondly, it marks a very bold decision when we chose to use this installation vessel, which is the first installation and lifting of its kind,” said Trond Bokn, project manager on the Johan Sverdrup project.

Six football fields

– This is unique for Equinor, which is using this ship for the first time in the world in this way. It is the largest ship in the world, its deck area is six football pitches, the length of the ship is 382 meters, the equivalent of six Boeing engines, and when it now has the Sverdrup drilling platform safely in its arms, it is simply beautiful.

– Sverdrup was withdrawn from Haugesund yesterday, how did it go?

– The operation went very well, according to plan. This was an operation we had been planning for over four years, we were on target, the weather was good and it went very well.

On site Saturday

– What happens next now?

– When the weight of the drilling platform has been transferred to the heavy lift ship, we will ballast the ship and it will be ready for transport. It will then take several hours to sail to the Sverdrup field, and then the Sverdrup drilling bearing form will be installed on the steel undercarriage already installed in the field.

– When was it installed?

– The plan is that on Saturday it will be fully installed.