north sea

Scaffolder's shadow.

Good morning,

Today I wanted to share a couple of images from where I was working at height on a telecoms tower. I liked the shadows created of a couple of scaffolders walking by, unaware.

I would love to see your shadow photography,

leave a comment on instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks,

Lee

Fog creeping in.

Hello, here are some images of the fog slowly creeping in, over the windfarm.

The fog approaches like a soft whisper, gradually swallowing the horizon. The wind turbines, once clear and imposing, begin to fade into the mist, their outlines becoming ghostly silhouettes

The Edda Brint, SOV (service operations vessel) adjacent to our substation.

Housing 60 persons, the 60 PAX will be made up with the ships crew and technicians who are servicing the turbines.

The Wind Cat CTV (crew transfer vessel) This vessel is our daily transport to and from shore.

As the fog thickens, the turbines seem to float in mid-air, their blades slicing through the mist with a gentle, rhythmic motion. This ethereal scene creates a stark contrast between the solid structures and the ephemeral fog.

Have you captured the beauty of fog in your photography? Share your images and comments over on Instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks

Lee

Setting sun in the North Sea.

01 Safe Boreas, Prosafe, accommodation vessel, north sea, oil and gas, flotel, flotation, living, hotel, industrial, photographer, Lee Ramsden.jpg

Hello,

Today i would like to share some images of the setting sun in the North sea.

I have been lucky in my time offshore to see some amazing weather.

A spectacular sun rise, or setting sun in the middle of the sea is something really magical.

02 Safe Boreas, Prosafe, accommodation vessel, north sea, oil and gas, flotel, flotation, living, hotel, industrial, photographer, Lee Ramsden.jpg
03 Safe Boreas, Prosafe, accommodation vessel, north sea, oil and gas, flotel, flotation, living, hotel, industrial, photographer, Lee Ramsden.jpg

I hope that you have a good weekend.

Lee

Oil Rig.

01 Mariner A oil and gas platform; Stat oil; Equinor; north sea; oil rig; Lee Ramsden; professional; photographer.jpg
02 Mariner A oil and gas platform; Stat oil; Equinor; north sea; oil rig; Lee Ramsden; professional; photographer.jpg
03 Mariner A oil and gas platform; Stat oil; Equinor; north sea; oil rig; Lee Ramsden; professional; photographer.jpg
04 Mariner A oil and gas platform; Stat oil; Equinor; north sea; oil rig; Lee Ramsden; professional; photographer.jpg

Hello,

How are you?

Today id like to share 4 images of an North sea oil and gas platform.

There have been a few images on this blog now and more to come.

I would like to know what your thoughts are on the camera used to take these images?

Ill reveal in the next rig post.

Have a good weekend.

Lee

Prosafe - Safe Boreas

01 Prosafe, Safe Boreas, accommodation, bardge, flotel, Lee Ramsden, Oil and gas, platform, North Sea, uk, Scotland.jpg
02 Prosafe, Safe Boreas, accommodation, bardge, flotel, Lee Ramsden, Oil and gas, platform, North Sea, uk, Scotland.jpg
03 Prosafe, Safe Boreas, accommodation, bardge, flotel, Lee Ramsden, Oil and gas, platform, North Sea, uk, Scotland.jpg

Hello,

I want to share some images taken of an accommodation vessel..

The Safe Boreas is the most advanced and efficient harsh environment accommodation vessel in the world, constructed to comply with Norwegian regulations.

The vessel has the capacity to accommodate 450 persons in single man cabins.

The layout of the unit is unique, with two large internal atriums allowing natural daylight into cabins, mess room and recreational areas.

The vessel is named after Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind and the bringer of cold winter air.

The name reflects that the vessel is designed for operating in the Norwegian and UK North Sea, a geographical area renown for its cold climate and harsh winters.

04 Prosafe, Safe Boreas, accommodation, bardge, flotel, Lee Ramsden, Oil and gas, platform, North Sea, uk, Scotland.jpg
05 Prosafe, Safe Boreas, accommodation, bardge, flotel, Lee Ramsden, Oil and gas, platform, North Sea, uk, Scotland.jpg
06 Prosafe, Safe Boreas, accommodation, bardge, flotel, Lee Ramsden, Oil and gas, platform, North Sea, uk, Scotland.jpg

The key is to wait...

Weather; Mariner; oil and gas platform; north sea; oil rig; lee ramsden; Aberdeen.jpg
Tutorial, Setting sun, Mariner oil and gas platform, north sea, rough weather.jpg

Hello how are you?

Have you had a good festive period.

Thats it all over and back to normal for me now.

Q. What is the difference with the above images?

A. About half an hour..

It is amazing how waiting can have such a difference to your images.

In half an hour the sky semi cleared, even look at the sea, waves calmed down and the setting sun caught the clouds nicely.

So please take your time, slow down, bag the image and then wait till the suns gone as you never know how mother nature will react…

Have a great weekend.

Lee

North Sea, Supply Vessels

01 Humans at sea; Solstad; offshore; oil and gas; marchant navy, Lee Ramsden.jpg
02 Humans at sea; Solstad; offshore; oil and gas; marchant navy, Lee Ramsden.jpg

Good morning,

Today i want to show a vessel, this is one of many many vessels, that feed us, that bring us supplies and from the skippers and crews devotion and hard work keep the oil and gas industry working.

This is the Sea Falcon, operated by Solstad Offshore.

She was created in 2013, Length of 88.9m, Width 19.7m and a total 8732 bhp.

To keep up to date please subscribe.

Have a good week

Lee

Oil and Gas platform.

02 Mariner, oil and gas, platform,  oil rig, equinor,  northsea.jpg
01 Marine, oil and gas, platform,  oil rig, equinor,  northsea.jpg
03 Mariner A, oil and gas, platform,  oil rig, equinor,  northsea.jpg

Hello,

Today i would like to share three images, all taken within a few minutes on one another,

I thought it gives a good visual on the setting sun and blue hour.

Sometimes there isn’t a spectacular sun set.

With these industrial beauties, blue hour is my favourite as the contrast against the warm flood lights look amazing.

I hope that you have a good weekend,

Be sure to subscribe to keep up to date.

Lee

Oil and Gas platform.

01 Marine, oil and gas, platform,  oil rig, equinor,  northsea.jpg
02 Marine, oil and gas, platform,  oil rig, equinor,  northsea.jpg

Hello and welcome

Today i’d like to show these two images of the Mariner A, Uk North sea oil and gas platform.

hope that you have had a great weekend.

and if you have not yet subscribed to my newsletter then please do below.

Lee

The last flight to the BP Miller.

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi, 17

Today I want to show you the last ever flight to the BP Miller oil and gas platform. 

Also give you an insight in what happens during a routine Helicopter crew change. 

helideck, crew, HLO, offshore, oil and gas platform

The H.L.O gives permission for a flight to land on the deck. 

Sikorsky S92, landed on North Sea oil and gas, installation. 
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 04
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 04

Offshore worker, happy to be returning to work. 

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 

Arriving offshore workers in their survival suits picking up their luggage and leave the helideck. 

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi

Bristows Helicopter pilot. 

Helicopter refuelling operations, North Sea oil and gas industry. 

Helideck team get ready the refuelling hose. 

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 10
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 12
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 10

A Bristows, Sikorsky S92 Helicopter being refuelled on the oil and gas platform. 

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 13
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 14

Departing offshore worker. 

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 15

Button her up, time to leave. 

Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 16
Sikorsky, S92, helicopter, aviation, flight, oil and gas industry, offshore, north sea, Aberdeen, taxi 

As this was the last flight, the pilot was happy to conduct a fly by :) 

Offshore rope access technicians.

blog, Industrial, rope access, IRATA, trade, offshore, oil and gas, safety, acredited, HSE, health and safety, working at height, WAH, photographer Lee Ramsden

Hello, 

Today id like to show some of the IRATA rope access technicians that were involved in the decommissioning of the BP Miller. 

blog, rope access, selective colour, IRATA, abseiler, offshore, oil and gas industry, under deck, BP Miller, BP, Petrofac, ACN, Saipem, Lee Ramsden

Welding on dead weight supports to the risers. 

Blog, welding on the ropes, rope access, IRATA, abseiling, industrial, lee ramsden, BP Miller, oil and gas rig, north sea, offshore, employment, redundancies, oil and gas industry, BP, Petrofac

Rope access welder cutting a riser. 

rope access, IRATA, technician, PETROFAC, north sea, oil and gas industry, abseiler, climbing, rope, industrial, Lee Ramsden.

Long tiring climb back up. 

Happy rope technicians, rope access, IRATA, working at height, oil and gas industry, industrial photographer, Lee Ramsden

Rope techs at height happy in their work. 

BP Miller decommissioning Scaffolder.

blog, Scaffodler, Mark Wilson, Marc Wilson, Brand energy, ACN, oil and gas industry, portrait, portrature, selfie, BP Miller, oil and gas rig, Petrofac, BP

The offshore scaffolder. 

They put up and take down scaffolding that allow offshore workers to reach higher levels during construction, decommissioning, maintenance or cleaning tasks.

Blog, Scaffolders, working at height, contruction, decommissioning, outbaord, scaffolding, BP Miller, north sea, offshore, oil and gas industry, Lee Ramsden.

Offshore standby vessel.

Blog, Standby vessel, ship, north sea, Grampain Dee, craig-group, craig group, oil and gas industry, Lee Ramsden, outboard cover, safety

In the UK oil and gas industry, it is a requirement for a standby vessel to be present. These vessels primarily cover helicopter operations and if any work has to be conducted where there is a potential to fail to sea. (known as outboard work). These vessels sit there, day in day out, no matter the weather they provide us with emergency cover and would spring to life and help rescue if the unlikely event ever arose. 

Grampian Dee, offshore, northsea stand by vessel

Testing of fire equipment.

fire fighting, equipment, fire monitor, high pressure water, jet, helideck, landing pad, offshore, north sea, oil and gas industry, Photo by Lee Ramsden

Along with practicing emergency exercises, an oil and gas platform regularly tests its emergency equipment. Today we see the helideck fire fighting equipment being tested. 

davie jess, david jess, offshore, north sea, oil and gas, deck forman, HLO, helicopter landing officer, on the phone, photo by Lee Ramsden

Tannoy being given, to warn all personnel of cascading water and that fire pumps are about to start. 

John McQuaid, cape, offshore, north sea, deck crew, industrial worker, offshore, oil and gas industry, photo by Lee Ramsden

Technician remote starting pumps from different panels. 

BP Miller oil and gas installation Helideck.

blog, Miller, helideck, sunset, sunrise, landing pad, offshore, oil and gas industry, north sea, Aberdeen, Lee Ramsden, Petrofac, BP, Saipem

Today id like to show a few single images. In recent times the Civil aviation has instructed for all UK oil and gas installations to install specific lighting set up on their helidecks, if they require flights in the hours of darkness.

The illuminated helideck against a North Sea sunset makes for quite an interesting image. 

Thanks

 

Lee

Offshore Emergency rope access response exercise.

IRATA, rope access, casuilty, dummy, rescue, ermgency team, working at height rescue, plan,  photo by Lee Ramsden

Hello, 

Today we see another emergency exercise. As you can see in the oil and gas industry we regularly drill and test the emergency response plan. 

It is the old adage -  fail to prepare, prepare to fail. 

It is a legal requirement to have a plan on what to do in an emergency, but does it work? 

Testing different scenarios on a regularly basis ensures that the plan works, and keeps the emergency response team skills fresh. 

 

Todays scenario, is in the above image. In this case we are using an inanimate dummy. But it is to practice how to rescue a rope access worker, working under deck. 

IRATA, rope access technician, donning, harness, getting ready, industrial worker, working at height.

IRATA rope access technician donning his harness. 

IRATA, rope access, rescue, level 3, hauling casulty, offshore, photo by Lee Ramsden

The rope access supervisor, using his equipment to haul the pretend casualty up to the deck. 

fire man, moviing casuilty, injured, exercise, practice, industrial photographer.

Platform fire team member safely has hands on the practice casualty. 

Blog, fireteam, emergency response, firstaider first aid, medic, north sea, photo by Lee Ramsden

The platform Medic and his first aid team, practice administrating first aid, and using the different types of stretchers required. 

casuilty on a stretcher, medical team, responding, offshore, oil and gas industry.
emergency response, drill, fireman, firemen, casuilty, Lee ramsden

Platform medic, coordinates the fire team members on lifting the stretcher and places it into the "frog", to lift the practice casualty from the lower levels of the platform, up to the installation sickbay. 

Blog, fireteam, emergency response, frog personnel transfer, north sea, photo by Lee Ramsden

Fire team leader, in communications with the crane operator. They safely lift the practice casualty to the platform sickbay.