In February 2023 MOD were involved in the rig move of the Noble Innovator from a subsea location  in the Southern North Sea to Aberdeen’s new South Harbour. This was a historic moment for Aberdeen as the Innovator would be the first Jack up drilling rig to berth in the city and the largest vessel ever to dock in Aberdeen. 

The rig was to be towed over 200 miles by 3 tugs which were joined by Aberdeen Harbour tugs for the entry to Port. 

For the project MOD would use two ‘C-Nav’ GNSS receivers utilising High Accuracy Corrections to achieve positioning, along with Meridian gyrocompasses for rig heading. Position assistance was to be given in Aberdeen South harbour due to a restrictive positioning scope. 

On arrival at Aberdeen MOD set up monitoring systems on both Helideck and main deck of the rig to give the pilot and Tow Masters a real time visualisation as the rig was manoeuvred into position.  

The rig transited the port entrance and then pinned approximately 50m from the quayside with the assistance of the tugs. With two rig wires run to the quayside, the legs were raised and the rig winched in to final position. Due to the restrictive positioning envelope, MOD installed 2 Leica Total stations on the main deck to ensure the rig was positioned completely parallel to the quay at the precise distance dictated by the client. 

The move was a success with the client getting the excellent service MOD always provide with our experienced rig move personnel.