Z-bridge Completes Steelwork for New Offshore Access System

The Dutch Z-bridge B.V. has completed the fabrication and assembly of the steelwork for its Bring-to-Work (B2W) offshore access system.

This first phase of the B2W development, which is set to be used for maintenance work, was finalized at SEW Oil & Gas under the supervision of Bureau Veritas, Z-bridge said.

According to the company, the outfitting of the hydraulic and control system will now commence. After commissioning, the offshore access system will be fully tested during the onshore factory acceptance tests.

B2W is expected to begin sea trials in the fourth quarter of the year, upon completion and acceptance of the third party inspection, when it will be mobilized on a vessel and demonstrated in the actual working environment.

Z-bridge stated that the objective of the system design is to optimize visit times by deploying a small team of up to six persons in one transit.

The system is said to offer the option of being deployed as a 3D motion compensated crane, hoisting 3t, which makes it also applicable for installation and commissioning activities.

The Dutch company concluded that B2W provides direct access from the vessel’s deck to the offshore structure from elevation +6m up to +22m LAT, making use of the existing W2W landing points. The small footprint and the 19,5t weight makes the system suitable for deployment on smaller SOVs and the larger type of CTVs.