Amazon Purchase & Conversion
1,500Te J-Lay conversion | 700+ personnel at peak
Client or Program Owner
McDermott International Inc. owned the program, and I reported to the SVP Marine, located in Houston TX.
Region
The search for a solution covered China, S. Korea and Germany. Once committed initial work (drydocks) were completed in Greenock & Singapore, conversion was completed in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Timeframe
The search for an additional asset was started in late 2015 and continued into 2016.
Context
The vessel conversion was highly complex, integrating new bespoke technology and was severely hampered by the outbreak of covid in 2020. The original schedule was severely delayed; redelivery was in the summer of 2022 after successful trials of the SW coast of Norway.
During the project, in the middle of Covid, we managed to segregate crews and contractors allowing us to continue work, with a peak workforce across the two shifts exceeding 700 personnel.
The Situation
I was involved from day one as a member of an exceptionally talented and experienced team tasked with evaluating and acquiring an additional asset for the McDermott marine construction fleet, leading to relinquishing my position as Global Marine Operations Director to join the conversion team and work through until the project completed.
What He Did
I provided operational input to the conversion team, managing the marine crew who remained on board throughout, witnessed tests and trials, reviewed and approved procedures, managed the Covid issues, segregation, outbreaks and quarantine processes.
I also ran an internal schedule shadowing IHC’s performance and proposed work, providing insight to our local team and senior McDermott management
Along with a colleague we presented the vessel planned capabilities and status to existing and future clients either on site (pre and post covid), virtually or at their location/s.
Some of my final tasks were to arrange the re-naming ceremony alongside in Rotterdam, facilitate anti-terrorist exercises with combined Netherlands military and civil units and integrate the Amazon into the 2022 Rotterdam Harbour day event.
The Outcome
The project was delivered late for the first project (awarded prior to the conversion starting) and handed back to the Global marine Management team for commercial operation.
Since then, the vessel has completed J-Lay installations in West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil in water depths up to 9,000 feet.
Key Detail
The Amazon Project was a significant investment for McDermott and justified my stepping down from Global Ops Director to support the project team due to the ambitiousness and complexity of the conversion.
Beset by worldwide Covid impacts, technical issues, supply chain failures we still succeeded in progressing the work to its conclusion with successful trials in 2022.
