On the 14th of April 2016, Ampelmann, the global leader in offshore access solutions, and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy) signed an agreement to install and operate a winterized version of an Ampelmann’s motion compensated gangway system. This system will be capable of safely and efficiently transferring work crew up to -28 degrees Celsius, therefore supports Sakhalin Energy’s requirements to continue maintenance and increase offshore POB year round in the Sakhalin-2 field.
The winterized Ampelmann, project name “Icemann”, will be installed on one of Sakhalin Energy’s new ice breaking support vessels of which delivery is due next year. Ampelmann will engineer and build this bespoke, unique in the world system for its launching customer Sakhalin Energy. The contract duration will be for 10 years. The system will have to deal with extreme icing, vibrations and vessel motions, while maintaining a safe, efficient and reliable means of transfer. In addition, Sakhalin Energy will charter a standard, non-winterized version of the Ampelmann motion compensated gangway for 5 years, to be installed on a second ice breaking support vessel and to support the personnel transfer requirements during the summer period.
