LOCATION NORTH SEA

[Music] ch n la [Music] this dock has given birth to ships for half a century but today the celebrations are not for the naming of a ship but for the christening of an island [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] this structure will soon stand shoulder high in for 400 ft of water in one of the most storm ridden seas in the world to the map makers it will be an island but to the oil men a jacket capable of carrying a drilling platform and all the paraphernalia needed to drill 27 Wells because of its great height it was built lying on its side the same weight as the fourth Bridge heavier than four Eiffel Towers it dwarfs man yet is Itself dwarfed by Nature now it must be carried from the safety of the dock out into the treacherous Waters of the sea [Music] Beyond its destination is the 40s field the first oil found in British Waters lying between Scotland and Norway in the middle of the North Sea 20,000 tons of steel stitched together by a million welding rods but during the tow out and until she stands vertical on the seabed she's at the mercy of wind and wave so there's a choice of two routs in the Lee of the coast and a short stretch of open water or if the weather holds Good a straight run to the location to carry the jacket to the 40s they built a raft this flotation tank weighs a further 10,000 tons but the problem is not only Towing it to the location but tilting it upright when it gets there so each chamber can be flooded separately the valves are monitored and controlled by radio link from a nearby vessel the complex control equipment is in a watertight compartment this is the heart of the flotation tank so it is both a ferry to carry the jacket to the location and a robot which on command can tilt it upright and lower it to the seabed on location using a computer to monitor the sequence the rear Chambers will be flooded now this risky manuver must be repeated in a hostile sea with a structure costing 60 million [Music] a calm sea and a light Breeze and the weathermen say there's no need for the safe havens of the coastal route it's straight to the 40s standing by is oil producer the other end of the radio link with the flotation tank from here it receives its orders it is the flotation Tank's [Music] brain the route to the 40s cross is the path of the Vikings and norsen the great Herring shs and the troller men it has always been the unpredictable [Music] sea so the forecasters have become fortune tellers reading the broad palm of the sky and they say tomorrow will be fine [Music] now the 250 mile tow is nearly done but the fingers that wrote the multi-million pound check must still be kept crossed for for ahead is the most critical stage of the [Music] operation on the horizon a frutilla of crane barges and support craft cluster around the location [Music] this is the location in the North Sea 8,000 ft below lies the 40s oil field but the oil will remain there untapped unless this jacket can be tilted and lowered onto the seabed so far below on oil producer the final checks are being made turn system power to on to control and command 30,000 tons of steel in the North Sea demands the technology of a moonshot on the star side these men will sink in minutes the jacket that has taken 10 million man hours to [Music] create 149 all is ready it's time for the last man to leave the jacket will be positioned in three stages the first is pre flooding okay Mark time 15553 July 74 pission received to pre flood uh what is your starboard hydraulic suction project 39 Roger P side uh 4 38 open all your vent vs on both sides okay Roger starboard V1 open starboard V2 open starboard V3 open uh bra 6C F2 open is open port is open as the rear tanks start to flood the structure is held precisely over the drilling site by cables from the crane [Music] [Applause] parties and go to for SE one and execute start is open port is open Roger the mark time we are now pre- flooding time is 1630 uh control control this is all producer come in control this is control go ahead uh control we have all vales open we are now pre flooding over Roger producer all anchors are in position the are ready l so let's go ahead Roger everything looks good on this end over looks like we're ready to go take a peak there oh yeah looking good pitch angle is slowly very slowly increasing roll angle is still zero everything's fine both generators are on nitrogen okay nitrogen looks good uh let me call uh control control this is our producer come in control this is control go ahead uh we are ready to uh to crash flood if you got all your uh tugs and uh D Bar is in position uh what is the condition there over uh Roger we have a favorable current conditions let's proceed we have uh a slight problem on the uh uh quick release mechanism for the St line I think the uh Alba has to move in and uh cop the line sh okay with you over we'll have her move in right now I'll adise when the line is uh fa Roger we uh we are very stable we will hold the operation until you tell us that the line is clear Roger she's coming in now okay we will keep an eye on her and uh you let us know when we can temper you over uh Roger okay she's going right in open the common vent on Port and soon stage two the crash flood will begin if the calculations are correct the flotation tank will tilt the jacket through 45° in less than 60 seconds is uh this is our producer go ahead uh the elow is cutter Stern lawn now uh looks like we're ready uh how are things on your side now uh we are ready so stand by I will call out uh crash flood in about uh 5 Seconds over uh Roger all vessels are clear okay okay we ready Roger I'll left two vales open all right ready all right Roger now let's uh arrange for crash FL so uh tank eight execute Roger and tank nine execute Roger okay you ready okay here we go we have crash laap now control control this is all producer we have crash lap now [Music] over pitch is increasing we should have pitch critical there there she goes I think yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's the moment we've been waiting for Roger uh control control this is all producer come in control this is control go ahead uh Roger as you can see we have a Down On The Spar now we are secure on the surface over Roger looks great looks great next the third and final stage setting the jacket upright on the seabed 400 ft below now tide and current are the main worry for the jacket must be lowered precisely over the drilling Point okay uh on uh tank for open F2 please Roger open okay uh locate F1 red and execute okay let's bring it Down's open okay very well looks good on down [Music] looks very clear here all right finally she's down the steel structure in the dockyard has become an island in the North Sea soon three more Islands will be created here over the 40s the cost more than 500 million P the object to bring oil in quantity to Britain Shores from beneath the North Sea [Applause] [Music]