ABS Certifies Jack-Up Rig Steel after Remote

Classification and consultancy company ABS has provided a remote survey for steel certification at a steel mill, enabling Lamprell to continue work on jack-up drilling rigs, despite COVID-19 restrictions.

Lamprell ordered 8855 MT of steel for two drilling rigs from Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel Mill in Gujarat but travel restrictions caused by COVID-19 mitigation measures made it impossible for ABS to certify the steel at the mill in person, potentially delaying the project.

ABS then proposed a remote survey option, with ABS surveyors in Mumbai certifying the steel with data provided by the mill, and production of the jack-ups continuing on schedule.

“I am proud of how we have innovated to respond to a real-world challenge and support our customers in the delivery of this key material despite the unprecedented challenges created by the virus. This is typical of ABS’s agile and responsive approach,” said Matt Tremblay, ABS Senior Vice President Global Offshore. “ABS is leading the way in remote survey and this case highlights the breadth and flexibility of our remote capability, which delivers genuine operational advantages for our clients.”

Lamprell’s Chief Operating Officer, Hani El Kurd said: “ABS’s remote inspection solution has been an excellent mitigation solution to maintain the quality assurance and schedule demands of our projects. It also ties up well with our digitalization strategy which starts with our own processes and those of our service providers and suppliers.”

Wim Van Gerven, Director and Vice President – Operations, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd, said: “ AM/NS is proud to have partnered with ABS to conduct remote survey and certification of steel during lockdown due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This demonstrates our ability to use technology for business continuity. The development of an online certification process has facilitated AM/NS to supply steel to customers even in the most difficult times.”

ABS did not provide further info on the rigs being built by Lamprell.

Worth noting, ARO Drilling, a joint venture (JV) of Saudi Aramco and Valaris Companies, in January awarded contracts to International Maritime Industries (IMI) and signed a subsequent sub-contract agreement with Lamprell Energy Ltd (LEL) for the construction of two Letourneau Super 116E Class offshore jack-up drilling units.

It was then said that the delivery of the first rig would likely be in Q1 2022, while the second rig expected in Q2 2022.