2024

J3575 : The 'SeaRose FPSO' at Belfast

taken 11 months ago, near to Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

The 'SeaRose FPSO' at Belfast
The 'SeaRose FPSO' at Belfast
The 'SeaRose FPSO' in the Harland and Wolff Building Dock for maintenance. The Connswater River is in the foreground. Note that the cranes have been moved south to accommodate the vessel into the dock J3574 : Cranes, Belfast.
The 'SeaRose FPSO'

The 'SeaRose FPSO' LinkExternal link is a floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessel. Constructed specifically to work at the White Rose oilfield LinkExternal link 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland, the 267m long vessel was constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries and launched in 2004. The vessel has a storage capacity of 940,000 barrels of oil, which is approximately 10 days of production.

These are images of the vessel undergoing maintenance in Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard in both 2012 and 2024.

The Harland and Wolff Building Dock, Belfast

The building dock in Belfast was constructed between 1968-1970 by George Wimpey & Company for the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. A massive 556 metres long by 93 metres wide, it was designed for the construction of massive crude oil tankers and bulkers. Although many ships were constructed here, including two supertankers of 172,174 tonnes (343,423 DWT), the yard was in decline by the early 1970s and the dock never really fulfilled its potential. The last ship to be constructed was the 'Anvil Point' in 2003 and the yard now specialising in ship repair and the emerging renewable energies sector, notably offshore wind turbines and tidal energy projects.
Towering above the dock are the two gantry cranes 'Samson' and 'Goliath'. Now landmarks on the Belfast skyline, the cranes were designed for the yard by the German firm Krupp. Goliath, completed in 1969 and mostly fabricated by the yard, stands at 96 metres and Samson, completed in 1974 and built entirely by Krupp, is taller at 106 metres. Both cranes have a span of 140m and have a safe working load of 840 tonnes each (though I believe were tested for 1,000 which caused the top girders to bend downwards by some 11 inches). They run on 800m of track which spans the length of the dock and each crane has 64 special anti-friction bearing mounted wheels.
Both the dock and the cranes are now protected scheduled monuments. See LinkExternal link for technical information .

LinkExternal link in an informative video from the BBC.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Rossographer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Coastal City, Town centre Industry Docks, Harbours Place: Belfast Harbour Belfast Belfast Docks Primary Subject: Ship other tags: Shipyard Harland and Wolff Belfast Docks Belfast Harland & Wolff SeaRose FPSO Connswater Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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J3575, 1064 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rossographer   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 11 February, 2024   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 12 February, 2024
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 3577 7543 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:36.5300N 5:53.9676W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 3653 7503
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image Type (about): cross grid  extra 
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