From left Captain Trond Breivik and Chief Officer Juha Silvennoinen.
Loading of spoolpiece.
–We took part in a SURF installation (Subsea,
Umbilical, Risers and Flow lines). The operation
included divers at 80m, and we fortunately had
no interruption to diving operations due to bad
weather. We also managed to avoid the worst
weather, says Breivik. Portland, which is west of
Melbourne, was the base during the operations.
–We made many trips to and from Portland
to transport personnel and equipment for our
operations, reports Breivik.
Strict regulations
Before the Normand Clough was even allowed
to approach Australian waters, the ship had to
undergo an extensive process. There are strict
regulatory requirements to operate in Australia,
both from the authorities and the unions which
hold a strong position in the country.
– First of all the ship had to be approved in
accordance with the SPS Code (Special Purpose
Ship). New ships are built to this standard,
but the Clough was built in 2008 and needed
exemptions on some points. The ship is of a
very high standard, but nevertheless it is timeconsuming work particularly for the office, to get
the SPS approval, Breivik reports. The Normand
Clough also had to go into dry dock before
departure from Singapore, to remove all marine
growth on its hull and propellers.
–The work had to be approved by an Australian marine biologist before we could put the
ship to sea and set course for Australia reports
Breivik. The woodwork onboard had to be checked and treated to ensure that it did not harbour
termites or other vermin. Strict regulations are required if Australia is to prevent any alien species
of animals and plants or contagion, from entering
the country.
Some of the Solstad crew allowed to stay
Australian unions also enforce strict regulations
to ensure that their members have good conditions when they work onboard ships operating in
the country.
–One requirement is that crew must have
new mattresses and bed linen, so we had to
purchase 120 new mattresses, duvets and
pillowcases. Eve