Ampelmann, a leader in offshore access solutions, has announced a two-year contract extension with Solstad Offshore to continue providing a motion-compensated gangway for Petrobras operations. The A-type system, installed on the Normand Valliant in 2022, will now remain in operation until August 2026, with the possibility of further extensions.
Highlighting their strong ongoing partnership, two contracts between these companies are currently in place. Ampelmann’s A-type was joined by the one-and-a-half times larger E-type motion compensated gangway in June 2024 which is currently operational on the Normand Fortress.
“This is an important moment for us,” says Jairo Prezzi, Ampelmann’s Business Developer for South America, “and we are particularly pleased to see such extended trust in our gangways and services. We would like to thank Solstad Offshore and Petrobras for their continued commitment to Walk to Work (W2W) and the safety and efficiency it brings to the industry.”
Increasingly well known in Brazil, Ampelmann’s gangways are known globally for their innovative hexapod that allows them to compensate for motions in six degrees of freedom (6DOF). Able to operate safely during rough sea conditions, their precision, reactivity and low gangway telescoping speeds mean they are especially well equipped to handle the divergent motions of two floating objects such as FPSOs, Single Point (Bouy) Moorings (SPMs) and floating wind turbines.
As of this summer, four of Ampelmann’s gangways have been assisting with a variety of offshore work, ranging from decommissioning, maintenance and crew change. In addition to the two gangways signed for Solstad Offshore, a second A-type and the fully electric, lightweight, S-type have also been commissioned for work on long-term projects in Brazil’s growing offshore energy sector. Within a combined total of over 2500 days of operations, more than 200,000 transferees have used these four gangways since 2022.
“Since our first operations in Brazil over a decade ago, W2W has emerged as a cost-effective and flexible offshore access solution that complements the existing practice of using large semi-sub flotels. Since then we’ve established ourselves as a strong local entity and in the last year alone, we have further localised our operational presence and expanded our team with local talent – including project managers, maintenance crew, coordinators and operators. We believe strongly that high performance gangways will become increasingly important in the coming years as Brazil’s growing offshore sector branches out into offshore (floating) wind.”
