J3575 : The "Blackford Dolphin", Belfast

taken 10 years ago, 3 km from Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

The "Blackford Dolphin", Belfast
The "Blackford Dolphin", Belfast
See J5083 : The 'Blackford Dolphin' off Bangor. The oil rig “Blackford Dolphin” arrived in the Harland & Wolff building dock on the morning tide. The following is a quotation from a H&W press release: “Aberdeen based Dolphin Drilling Ltd has awarded Harland and Wolff the contract for the dry docking of the Blackford Dolphin mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU). The project will include upgrade work and repairs and renewals for its Class Renewal Survey. The project will be completed in H&W’s 556m x 93m Main Building Dock, starting November 2013 for approximately 50 days. The Aker H-3 propulsion assisted semi-submersible rig underwent a major deep-water upgrade in 2006 to 2008. At that time, Harland and Wolff designed and built the new 130 man accommodation blocks, power generation module, mud room and additional buoyancy for the conversion." J3575 : The "Blackford Dolphin", Harland & Wolff, Belfast (1) shows the rig from close to the Queen’s Road.
Note: the cranes have been moved from their usual positions to accommodate the rig.
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.

The 'Blackford Dolphin' at Belfast

The 'Blackford Dolphin' LinkExternal link is a huge offshore drilling rig. It was towed from off the coast of Brazil to Belfast for a refit at Harland and Wolff LinkExternal link . This is a series of pictures of the rig prior to and during dry-docking at the yard. It docked on Monday 2nd December 2013 and departed on Tuesday 17th June 2014.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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J3575, 1038 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Monday, 2 December, 2013   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 2 December, 2013
Geographical Context
Industry  Docks, Harbours 
Place (from Tags)
Belfast 
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 358 754 [100m precision]
WGS84: 54:36.5506N 5:53.9108W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 371 755
View Direction
WEST (about 270 degrees)
Clickable map
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Other Tags
Belfast Harbour  Harbour  Harland & Wolff  Dock  Dry Docking  Oil Rig 

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