How Hovercraft Are Connecting The Energy Sector
Nicholas MacLeod‐Ash Griffon Hoverwork Limited
Energy industry operations are conducted in every corner of the globe and increasingly in the most inhospitable and environmentally sensitive habitats known to man. In these locations, extracting natural resources is inextricably linked with operating with little to no infrastructure, where personnel and equipment conducting the crucial tasks that allow business
to succeed are isolated from medical and maintenance help.
In these transitional, low infrastructure environments, displacement draft vessels or wheeled vehicles that were traditionally relied on to connect locations or respond to events cannot operate without building roads and bridges or dredging the waterways to overcome shallow water or frozen tundra. Dredging and construction takes time, is expensive and is both directly damaging to the environment along the route as well as disturbing the pattern of life of indigenous species.
Helicopters are often used for their ability to fly over challenging terrain quickly but their noise and exhaust emissions are significant environmental hazards. Whilst offering a useful capability for
The “Arctic Hawk” operating out of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to North Star Island
specialised roles they are often very costly without providing the level of practicality required. A helicopter is also limited in carrying capacity so freight and ferry operations result in multiple expensive trips. Even the availability of the helicopters can be limited due to inclement weather and the costs and challenges of maintenance to keep them safe and fit to fly in austere environments. Weather can all too easily restrict their use when there is limited visibility. These factors translate into not only loss of reliable service and consequential impact to the revenue operations but profitability of the business.
One alternative can be a hovercraft. A hovercraft's hull can lift above the surface by 1.8m with a payload of up to 150 tonnes. Hovercraft have the ability to overcome the obstacles conventional vehicles face whilst operating to and from remote locations; carrying higher payloads than helicopters, travelling at speeds up to 45 knots, operating in all weather, at very low risk, with minimal infrastructure and negligible environmental impact.
A Griffon Hoverwork 2000TD hovercraft, the “Arctic Hawk” operates in the frozen conditions of Northern Alaska. Here, 6 miles off shore in Prudhoe Bay oil field, where roughly half a million barrels of oil a day is extracted, the man‐made North Star Island operates in isolation. The extreme environmental conditions mean the sea is often either partially or fully frozen throughout the year
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Society of Maritime Industries Handbook & Members’ Directory 2020
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