Fugro has completed a multidisciplinary site characterisation for the Male’ to Thilafushi Link project, the planned bridge between Male’ City and Thilafushi in the Maldives.
Fugro has accelerated mobilisation from the UAE to the Maldives ahead of global Covid-19 lockdown to ensure that this project could meet the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s (MNPHI’s) delivery schedule.
The Maldives were locked down just as the project was mobilising but Fugro used its self-propelled jack-up barge Fugro Amberjack as the designated in-country quarantine facility, meaning offshore personnel could work whilst safely isolated.
They also mitigated the risk of further delays by mobilising the marine geophysical vessel Fugro Mapper from India to acquire geophysical data.
Fugro implemented its Transformer Model of working, whereby the self-elevating platforms Sea Giant and Skate 3D were transported on and dynamically assembled from the Amberjack. This execution strategy enabled safe and rapid delivery of multiple drilling assets into the project area, providing MNPHI with an unparalleled rate of Geo-data acquisition in water depths between 0 m and 46 m and in challenging metocean currents.
Chris Arnott , Fugro’s country manager for the UAE, said: “Despite the Covid-19 crisis, our team completed 4 weeks ahead of schedule thanks to their determination and ingenuity in difficult circumstances, utilising marine assets designed, owned and maintained by Fugro for exactly this type of challenging marine environment. MNPHI can now proceed on schedule with their landmark national development and we look forward to further opportunities to support the project.”