A team of eight salvors have finally made it aboard the stricken semisubmersible drilling rig, which grounded off the Isle of Lewis, off Scotland, a week ago today.
The rig grounded early last Monday morning after parting from the tug Alp Forward that was towing it from Stavanger to Malta amid high winds.
A crew of three boarded the rig early last week, but further attempts have until yesterday been hampered by the weather.
The team of eight, from salvage firm Smit and Transocean, boarded the rig, Transocean's Transocean Winner, on Sunday, and were due to carry out a full assessment, as well as make it habitable in order that they could remain on it overnight, according to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA).
UPDATE: On Tuesday, the MCA said an underwater multi-beam survey continues to be carried out around the Transocean Winner to The assess the damage and look at the possible refloating routes for the rig. It was expected that by the end of the day the team number will have increased to 15.
The team will look at the rigs diesel oil tanks, two of which were found to be damaged last week. The aim is to transfer fuel to unbreached tanks, above the waterline, before any refloat operation takes place, the MCA says.
Rope access technicians have created a safe alternative access after the prevailing weather conditions made it too difficult to winch the team down to the installation, the MCA says.
Work was also due to be carried out to provide a supply line for the team in order to get equipment and supplies on board as well as work to create connections for towlines.
Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State’s representative for maritime salvage and intervention, said: "Once the assessment is underway, we’ll have a much better idea of what we are dealing with, which will mean a more detailed salvage plan can be drawn up and put into place."
It is thought the GVA-4000 design rig, built in 1993 and upgraded in 2006, was due to be taken on to Turkey to be scrapped, according to BBC reports.
The Transocean Winner recently came off contract with Marathon Oil in the Norwegian North Sea on a US$498,000 day rate, but had no other work lined up, according to Transocean's latest fleet report.
An exclusion zone of 300m remains in place around the rig covering the sea and the air, which means no drones will be permitted in the area, providing a safe working area for the salvage team to work in.
Shaw added: "We’ve made a commitment to keeping people informed locally and we intend to keep to that – once I’m happy that the plan is ready, we will be sharing it with community leaders and the community as a whole."
An exclusion zone of 300m remains in place around the rig covering the sea and the air, which means no drones will be permitted in the area, providing a safe working area for the salvage team to work in.
Image: The grounded Transocean Winner. Photo from MCA.
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