Arctic Low Temperature Use
The Arctic FROG demonstrates Reflex Marine's ability to respond to some of the world's most challenging environments. The low temperature FROG provides a high degree of safety for passengers being transferred in temperatures as low as -40 degrees centigrade.
FROG-3 ARCTIC
In 1999 Reflex Marine was approached by OKIOC, an operator working offshore Kazakhstan at very low temperatures.
The company's winter evacuation plan was to lower personnel down to a tracked vehicle that would then transport them across the snow to a safe location. They were concerned that a conventional basket in temperatures of -30 degrees, in potentially high winds and blizzard conditions, would present unacceptable levels of risk to passengers.
The Reflex Marine design team was commissioned to develop a special FROG-3 suitable for low temperature use. We worked with Shell metallurgists in The Hague to develop a variant of the standard FROG-3 suitable for use in these environments. The client commented:
The FROG provided the only acceptable means of performing rig evacuations in sub-zero temperature conditions.
FROG-6 ARCTIC
Similarly, the FROG-6 was developed after Reflex Marine were approached by Sakhalin Energy, long term users of the FROG-3 Arctic, to develop a low temperature version of the FROG-6. The FROG-6 Arctic offers improved transfer efficiency in extreme environments.
Andrew Fendt, the Offshore Installation Manager on the Lunskoye-A is very pleased with the platform’s new acquisition:
It may only seem like a small thing - going from three to six seats - but it has surprised me how it has revolutionised our safety-critical daily vessel transfer operations…
Sakhalin Energy wrote the following article on their decision to incorporate the FROG-6 Arctic into their everyday procedures:
http://www.sakhalinenergy.ru/en/default.asp?p=channel&c=3&n=257
Client Feedback
The low temperature FROG-3 has since been adopted around the world in low temperature environments in Russia, Canada, Norway and China. Our clients include Petro-Canada, ConocoPhillips, Sakhalin Energy, SBM and Husky Oil.
SBM, Sakhalin Island
During the winter season, we had to do a lot of transfers in extreme cold conditions. In the past we had to hang on for dear life while the crane lowered us 120 ft to the deck of the MSV. With frozen fingers, this was quite a dangerous task. With the introduction of the FROG, this is a much safer transfer method as the passengers are secure without having to hang on! This was the main reason we bought it in the first place.
Petro-Canada, Canada
The FROG has proven to be a safe method of personnel transfer at the field and our personnel are comfortable with its use.
