Aquadrill's Polaris Drillship Catches Fire in Sri Lanka

Bartolomej Tomic
Thursday, February 17, 2022

Aquadrill's Polaris drillship caught fire earlier this week at Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka. According to the port authorities, the incident happened Tuesday, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

"The Hambantota International Port Emergency Response Unit (ERU) together with the port’s Quality, Health, Safety & Environment Dept. (QHSE), and Port Control, responded to a fire that occurred on board the drillship “West Polaris," on Tuesday, 15th evening.  The ship’s crew had alerted Port Control for assistance in dousing the sudden fire that had broken out in the ship's emergency generator room," the port said in a statement.

"The ERU’s fire trucks arrived on the scene within minutes of being notified, assisting the crew to quickly contain the fire with charged fire hoses. The respective ERU teams brought the fire fully under control within 33 minutes of their arrival.  They were able to prevent serious damage to the ship, or its surrounding area," the port added.

©Hambantota International Port

“The joint effort of this venture reflects professionalism and assurance to HIP port users and stakeholders of optimum safety and proactive response to unforeseen events related in maritime operations,” said Tissa Wickramasinghe, COO of HIPG.

The  2008-built drillship called at the Hambantota Port for a lay-up on January 11, 2021, and was at Berth 6 when the fire occurred. The ship is expected to remain in port until June 2022.

While the vessel, according to a photo - in which some parts appear blurred for an unknown reason - shared by the port, still bears the "West Polaris" name, the drillship is now actually named 'Polaris' after its owner, Seadrill Partners, rebranded and became Aquadrill. The 6th-gen drillship is managed by Vantage Drilling.

Offshore Engineer reached out to both Aquadrill and Vantage, seeking comment on the incident. The companies did not respond.

Last month, Aquadrill signed an agreement with Vantage Drilling for Vantage to manage and market its ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig Aquarius, too. 

According to a statement given in January by Ihab Toma, CEO of Vantage, Vantage has, since starting to manage the Aquadrill fleet in May 2021,  assisted in the recycling and repurposing of two rigs, have contracted the Capella [drillship] with Premier and Repsol in Indonesia, "and are actively bidding the Polaris [drillship] and now the Aquarius."


Hambantota International Port

Categories: Energy Drilling Industry News Activity Asia Drilling Rigs

Related Stories

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

Ventura Offshore’s Semi-Sub Rig to Keep Drilling for Eni in Asia

Timor Gap Boosts Stake in Finder Energy’s Timor-Leste Oil Fields

Seatrium Secures ABS Backing for Deepwater FPSO Design

Petronas to Leverage AI to Expedite Oil and Gas Exploration Activities

Brownfield Output Decline Accelerates, says IEA

PV Drilling Takes Ownership of Noble Corporation’s Stacked Jack-Up Rig

Shelf Drilling Lands New Jack-Up Contract in Vietnam, Extends Egypt Deal

Four Jack-Up Drilling Rig Deals Set to Bring In $129M for Borr Drilling

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com