Third party certification prior to delivery
Even though DnV have type approved the Helifuel helicopter refuelling system, it is necessary that each installation is tested and approved prior to delivery.
Helifuel are about to supply the Oslo based yard Master Marine with a helicopter refueling system to be mounted on a hotel ship. The ship will be furnished at a yard in Arendal and will be taken into use by ConocoPhillips at the Ekofisk field next fall.
Before the system can be shipped from Helifuel’s facilities in Sveio, it needs to be tested for approval by a third party. In this case DnV. When the system is approved it will receive a unit certification from DnV. This is one part of the comprehensive quality assurance system Helifuel is complying to. The unit test for Master Marine was accomplished in the presence of representatives from Master Marine, DnV and ConocoPhillips.
Each system will need a unit certification. Our job is to make sure that the work is done in accordance with regulations and procedures. Prior to shipment it is normal to do a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) which is an important element in the quality assurance, says the surveyor Arnfinn Gjerde from DnV.
As oil and gas are flammable, safety is the priority in the offshore industry. Safety is not something you leave to the suppliers and operators. Equipment and installations must be controlled by independent organizations – as DnV, other class societies or other certification societies. We take care of other people’s values and from that point the assignments from Helifuel fits well into our list of assignments.
We are certifying helicopter refueling systems from Helifuel both before shipment from Helifuel’s facilities and after it is installed onboard a ship or an offshore installation. When the system is installed and tested the system gets its final approval and can be taken in use.