The Life Onboard Gjøa

it needs to make up your mind I'll check it with my eyes ears hunt made in form I'm just doing this for 30 minutes and I'm watching ski videos this is my speciality with the sesame seeds and the whole wheat flour it's like a James Bond room and a lot of fancy stuff the Jo a platform inaugurated in 2010 is one of the very latest offshore installations of the 450 present in the North Sea imagine a mastadon the size of a soccer field set on the water day after day night after night the platform pumps oil and gas from deposits under the sea floor a field holding an estimated 40 billion cubic meters of gas and 83 million barrels of oil a real treasure trove norwegian black/gold since the first North Sea deposits were discovered in the late 60s the country's economy has changed dramatically oil and natural gas now generate more than a quarter of the country's revenues in barely 30 years Norway has risen to join the ranks of the richest countries in the world Laurel airport in western Norway this is the last vacation day for a ttle hofstadter hi he's a technician on the platform it's not the North Sea air which gave him his tan but rather the four weeks he just spent in the Alps that's what working on the platform means four weeks vacation for two weeks of work holidays are definitely finished four weeks of good holidays over yeah no what are you going to do to have fun in the free time you need to work to get some money to have fun so now it's 14 days of work his colleague England was traveling back to on a platform the regulations are very straight first restriction cell phones to avoid the risk of explosion cell phones are simply banned offshore alcohol is also prohibited anyone who isn't at zero grams had better watch out the platform is 60 kilometres offshore the only way to get there is by helicopter everyone has to wear a survival suit which in the event of a crash would keep them alive for a few hours in water that's less than 4 degrees it's for staying safe and warm for a good while in the sea if you have to go down with a helicopter about today more than 15 people are going out to the Java platform there's a last safety briefing before they board the helicopter safety it's an obsession for offshore workers because a platform is a place to work and live but it's also a potential bomb to earn the right to work there each person must take the buzz yet calls for survival on the high seas it's held in Aberdeen Scotland in a special training centre the course includes fire extinguishing evacuation drills helicopter winching and first-aid training I said it wasn't a race guys but you probably want to put some real APRA into it this water temperature is approximately 26 degrees this is a tropical climate in the North Sea you are talking of a range of temperatures that barely reach double figures at any time of year stand by the big chain capsule but the most spectacular exercise is Road Road a simulation of a helicopter crash hmm the instructors designed a disaster scenario an emergency sea landing the helicopter sinking and even capsizing the trainees are guaranteed a thrilling ride they stay inside the helicopter they wait for the movement to stop now and now they look to make an escape and you'll notice we'll start to make an escape in a few seconds this is the worst possible trainees have to be ready to deal with anything panic is a big factor that caused a lot of fatalities no people have an idea of what they should be doing in an interview addiction and therefore there's a little bit less panic now trainees are between 20 and 65 years old every year 30,000 people sign up for this course the buzzy X certificate is valid for 4 years and allows them to work on any platform in the world back to Norway for at all the buzz yet is a distant memory he's been working offshore for 26 years for him and his colleagues taking the helicopter to the platform is like taking the bus to work finally the platform appeared on the horizon 20 minutes into the flight octal and ingen and the others were about to start two straight weeks of intensive work the Java platform doesn't rest on the seabed actually it floats like a boat held in place by 16 anchors the hull was manufactured in South Korea and delivered to Norway after a 50-day journey escorted by an army frigate now that's an exceptional transport the hull was then assembled with the upper portion after which the construction was transported out to sea to the field under the sea several connecting pipes draw out the deposits which lie two kilometers below the sea floor once they're brought up the oil and gas are separated before being sent to the mainland through a pipeline in all it took no less than 18 million hours of labor and an investment of 4.5 billion euros to create this structure the team has barely arrived and they have to get to work Adil's ritual is taking the pulse of Java for two hours he walks all over the platform keeping an eagle eye out for the slightest anomaly a suspect sound or smell battle was already here when the equipment was built he knows these floors of piping these pumps these compressors better than anyone the first day or more of the four weeks over you need to make up your mind so I spent hours just walking around and standing like this I check in with my eyes ears hunt you can feel the vibration when you go into a room like that of course we have my bracing monitoring system on the competitors but I always make up the mind with the compressor is okay forget it I don't know what have you done so to say to someone this is the control room the heart of the reactor this is where all the technical data from the machines is compiled the high-tech room also lets workers control the 52 video cameras present on the site most importantly they can see in real time the amount of hydrocarbons sent back to land so this is what we produce now of gas right now we're at thirteen point seven million stana cubics a day so we're normally we're going to raise that now to fifteen point five for the oil and for the oil we go here and this is what we produce right now is five hundred and eighty standing cubic meters per day this is the emergency matrix so if we have a if I have a situation we can shut down the platform here easily it's just to push the button and we'll go down in the safe matter putting the platform into safe condition somewhere else was place I was one guy he was just curious what's happening and the platform went down and he went back home what happened he was just fine yep and never worked again not on that bluffer no we get it you should avoid pressing the button the tour continues into the high-tech crisis room this is a crisis room and we have plenty of sophisticated aides in here here is for the video we can start a video conference all that and we can see so it's a it's like a James Bond room got a lot of fancy stuff you see the window behind you and near the control room you want don't want any disturbance just frost a glass let's it closed come on Ethel stop acting like James Bond on Java one man holds a key post Errol Jasin is the offshore installation manager which means he's the platform boss a combination of a ship's captain and a factory manager the wall that you see here now is a fire wall it's protecting fire from spreading and especially spreading to the living water area so we have what you say the process system with hydrocarbons in on the other side and you have the utility system where we don't tell any hydrocarbons on this side the oil and gas extracted directly from beneath the seafloor passed through these pipes are treated on the platform and leave through what's called a riser this is whether I leave the platform now right now it's around 85,000 bells going through it some 15 and a half million standing victory it'll be guess from those two together with the price for oil and gas now it's around eleven and a half million euro right right amount of money while people reach the platform by helicopter good equipment and water are brought in containers a supply ship the sitter's supplier shuttles out twice a week weather permitting today the ship was able to get close to the platform and stabilize it's time to unload the precious cargo it's the perilous mission of packin chief crane operator he inspects the mechanism the pulleys and he has to work fast because in the middle of the North Sea the weather can change in seconds city supplier are you rockin on I can't clutter or link you miss long and all the first operation vital for the platform water supply the tanks of the city supplier delivered 165 cubic meters of crink above water which will be used for technical operations and cleaning but also for showers and cooking hackin now has to bring the containers on board food clothing fuel chemical products equipment and garbage cans a delicate operation if the waves are higher than eight meters the ship must leave the area to avoid colliding with the platform you have to follow the waves but it can be very difficult because the rig platform is moving and the bulk is moving and be moving sideways and up and down naturally you avoid crushing your friend kettles on deck to receive the crates which weigh several tons the crane operators big a challenge sometimes to get the containers in on the row and if it ever contains a party each other the waves speak they can move around on the deck put and tie together it looks nicer dude come on boys wrap up the giant game of Tetris as soon as the containers are on board they have to be unloaded tuna the cook and Alf the supply manager have a strange way of doing their errands these two are more at home at the stove but on a platform you have to know how to do everything especially since here the amounts aren't measured in grams Juna and alf have to unload three tonnes of food two three four four containers hmm sorry T exciting to see what's coming out of it like who's Rosen yes it is every Friday's Christmas every week on average the crew consumes 10 kilos of sugar 50 kilos of potatoes and more than 170 litres of milk and then there are the extras of course you see this is very important for us why the old Assisi is the platform is moving all the time and we have the doors in the back but we always have to fit on hook then winter it's a different weather so maybe the boat can come and we have to wait another week and that's why we have to have a lot of food at stores it's almost 7 o'clock Co Juna has to swap her industrial jumpsuit for her chef's apron now we are serving the dinner first it's a nice trip the seating and then at the seven o'clock gather I stole the crew is coming to eat so welcome to the kitchen of yoga today we're serving the Norwegian specialities it's Cumbre roast bubble let the crew you are very happy to be serve this type Amit Kumar it's a Norwegian institution a holiday dish only for the hardest of stomachs for small appetites there are freshly cut vegetables or seafood for those with a sweet tooth the chef's cakes tuna has to cater to all appetites a daily brainteaser it's very important to make different things every day so when I'm working 14 days I have to make at least 14 different meat courses and 14 different fish courses it's Charlie of me then if the fish is finished this is my speciality with the sesame seeds and the whole wheat flour so I fried it in the pan the nightshift have just finished their breakfast when the day shift enter the cafeteria the kitchen runs 24 hours a day two chefs take turns feeding everyone meals are an important part of life on the platform they keep the team's morale high it's a part of the social welfare actually on board so it's really important for people to to have a good meal a good meal eaten quickly in 15 to 20 minutes because the platform never takes a break at nightfall one man dares to tread in the belly of the beast yon Tory is Jo as nurse his mission to test the quality of the water which has just been delivered and to make sure it wasn't contaminated during its voyage this is done inside the hell itself we are down in the hull about 20 meter down below the surface so okay so we are going to be under sea under the sea now we're in one of the pillars of the platform the hull houses three huge tanks each of them holds two weeks worth of water for the whole crew the water is necessary to run the platform without water we have to take people on shore and then we cannot produce as much as we want to so everything is collected sample in hand he heads to the infirmary he has to check the water's acidity and chloride levels to ensure that it's fit for consumption any collective poisoning will put the platform in peril and the last and not least I have to test it of course it's like wine good bouquet go hard I work near the toad lumpy overall conk bear yeah then so tired and cushioned correct or cloth CeeLo blue Cassandra Kevin yeah okay as nurse Yun plays a key role on Java while he tries to prevent accidents rather than having to treat them he's prepared for any eventuality because we are living offshore we would like to treat as much as you can out here before sending onshore so we have medicines like this it's much more than necessary because we want to try to solve the problem here it's much cheaper nonetheless a crew member sometimes has to go home for a family emergency an accident or death in the family people often turn to the nurse to talk about it yang can decide to send them back to shore I have to be a good buddy for the persons and I also have to be a leader because I'm in the leader team but I also I am also a nurse so I have that I cannot I cannot speak about every issue people have to have been necessary integrity to come to me and then sharing problems and so on but it's quite nice you are a big family I know every person on the good side and the bad side of course 7:30 a.m. for mechanic Steiner drove ik it's been a short break and the day isn't over yet no time to rest I'll ask coffee before getting back to the deafening din of the machines a mechanic and his team have to work on the offloading pipe and replace one of the most important parts this apparatus calculates the flow and the precise quantity of oil offloaded each day it's sort of like the platform's cash register we are selling because this is our like a gas station when you fill up your car with 50 liters of gas you want to know that you have got 50 liters of gas so that's the same for us when we are selling the oil we want to know that we are selling the right amount oh boy this part is autumn or crucial because it determines the exact price to be paid by the buyer the tiniest percentage of error can lead to huge losses remember every day Joe will opt out the equivalent of 85 thousand barrels of crude each day so it must be recalibrated every year meanwhile of course production continues porting pumping is out of the question when a team is working on the main circuit the flow of oil is rerouted to a secondary circuit a great professional stymied always make sure to read the safety instructions which are in French if you please nippers Delmont they're super casual very poor well the accent needs a little work but you've done a great job you can go to bed secure in that knowledge six-thirty the following morning and someone's already hard at work don't be fooled by her baby face behind this devastating smile there's a ruthless bacteria hunter every morning a net Burke sweeps the platforms locker rooms with her anti-static cloth I get the room all to myself now for half an hour or an hour why because everyone's at a meeting and they don't start till 7:00 which means I can do a lot of cleaning in here now there's a lot of cleaning to be done and it always has a surface to scrub there are only two people to clean the 3,600 square meters of living quarters on the platform there's no dawdling after the common areas a net starts on the laundry for the 63 crew members everyone has their own bag we have the room number on the bag so everyone can see and we put the clean clothes in here and they can just look for them if they live in 204 this is their bag oh you are like your nanny for them yeah they're like my little children a super nanny of the high seas telleth Annette why did you choose this unusual way of life very well-paid job and they educated me as time goes by so I think it's a job I want to keep because I haven't got an education to have a job the pace just as well when I'm at home and I have a house and a boat and now thanks to pay so I'm gonna need this job but does doubling your salary really make up for being far from your partner in your family it's very good for the relationship actually it's very nice to be able to to say that I'm going on a two-week break now and it's also very nice to feel that I miss them when I'm gonna go home every time that's a good sign so I'm not I don't call home very much actually I don't because it makes me miss home so my boyfriend yells at me sometimes and tells me that I don't call home enough and I say but it's only gonna make me miss you and I try to stay focus at work but if you look up there are some distractions right Annette only women working here so all the guys had pictures of half-naked women at their offices and we demanded a half-naked man at our office and we got this guy now to the second floor in all the platform has 100 private rooms which Annette was clean regularly she agreed to open one of these cozy rooms for us now we're in a clean cabin this is what it looks like when people move in here a sea view in floor heating telephone TV welcome to the joah hotel it lacks for nothing except maybe a king-sized bed the leaders the cooks the service workers everyone has the same cabin same size even the platform manager no jealousy here everyone gets their own bathroom with a sink shower and a toilet this is a luxury on a platform where space is at a premium you're always with somebody and everybody can go where you go so it's very nice to have your own private room too when the win the day is over you just take a step back and need some privacy sometimes we don't care if it's small it really is kind of like a hotel here welcome to the bond of your a hotel that even has its own shot yeah here we have some the most necessary stuff that you need to be away from home till the run toothpaste a toothbrush yeah shaving equipment no but I guess the the the north's have one if you need even the stuff for the ladies we have some t-shirts we have underwear essential products but also candy if someone has forgotten something elf can usually tide you over you could say he's joe is concierge so here we have every cabin on board in a moment we are 63 people on boards and then we have 37 cabins freedom so it's kind of a hotel reception yeah it's an unusual hotel instead of giving you a key Alf hands you this funny little box it's a man tracking system so it sends signals and we have some receivers around the platform so everybody has one everybody has one we have one around our neck so when we pass an antenna they rig registrate to you so I can now go into the computer and see here who is on board in the moment we have seven people in the in the red area we have 54 in the green and we have two down in the in Hull in the indus off don't worry this tracer system isn't big brother it's only used in case of emergency evacuation to locate workers spread all over the platform there's always a door to check a light bulb to change on the production side it's the same thing in the control room at all and ingen are preparing for a maintenance operation they have to do that day as usual they work as a pair we have to make it to the preparations ready for mechanical operation so we have a block level Inlet yeah and we need to flush it with water so we have to check this one maybe and see if we can bleed it out there yeah and we always work to two operations technicians on the plan like this just to make sure because we are checking each other okay ready go it was this work in pairs that appealed to England Java is her first offshore experience she's the exception in this mainly masculine workplace on the platform only 10% of workers are women ingen had to prove herself sometimes I need to colleagues can you help with muscles sometimes instead of going in a gym you can go out and working you definitely need two workers to make sense of this hodgepodge of valves to open and close once the pump circuit is isolated they can safely flush it tell me a clock where does all that water go so this is not going to the sea just let me point that is not going to the ocean it's going to a tank we have big tanks to separate if there's oil spill and water and so on we have to clean it first and then we let it to see flame yes you can work in the oil industry and show concern for the environment in fact joah is a model platform while other platforms must burn the oil they extract to create their own electricity Joel brings it from land with a 100 kilometer undersea cable this means a substantial reduction in its co2 emissions you could say it's a green platform well light green for Ingham amatul it's the end of the day time to go back to the living quarters there's nothing like exercise for getting away from the confines of the platform and releasing stress jowar has to lavishly equipped gyms you could almost forget you're in the middle of the North Sea look Ingram's playing hula-hoop queen this ski buff can finally dream of wide-open spaces on the small screen I'm just doing this for 30 minutes and I'm watching ski videos so I can dream me a little bit away as for at'll he sought privacy in his own way the platform's fiber optic links allow him to talk to his family online and I'm building off what that's all I saw that I stood for him it's a special day he's just found out he's become a grandfather overnight he's seeing images of his granddaughter Andrea for the first time huh hey if the anikó a while so he you know this is one of the moments that it's not so good working offshore you wanted to be there of course but that's the way it is when I'm coming back home I plenty of time to see them all and that's what's the same when my children my two sons were small when I was home I had plenty of time other parents they had to go to work every day but I had plenty of time I could go in kindergarten with him I didn't join the foot play whatever so all in all I think I have more more time for the children 7:00 a.m. I rolled the platform manager starts his day by briefing his teams there are weather reports and black coffee for the sleepy one explain our olds been on duty for at least an hour and his work is far from done next he has to run the daily video conference with the mainland Morgan the Higgins this league a schemer for me some alum in the container Alec poore gases thank you the Bell Allen who was a little hello Todd man on land 75 people handle the logistical support for the Jo team we need to have a good dialogue with them on a daily basis to solve the issues that that pops up so and yeah it's really important and of course they also needs to know what what's going on and how we proceed with activities that we are doing it's Sunday on Joya the Sunday ritual involves cleaning the decks the work is broken down for teams every single person takes part even the boss and he doesn't hesitate to get his hands dirty for Laura to work with other people than that you normally work with and you get to know them so it's a social part in it that people get to know each other better so Errol dance Dana scour the pipes Ingram and at all take care of small oil leaks under the machines this truly collective work takes over an hour like if you haven't even eyes the garbage Oh after their exertions a reward it's time for some hotdogs wash down with beer of course the alcohol-free kind that's the gift mr. carrot it's a good social thing because it keeps everyone to be part of the platform everyone platform manager of service workers everyone in the maze of the platform technicians can spend days without running into each other these moments of conviviality help to bring teams together to create an esprit de corps if a problem occurs on Java they'll know how to react and help each other but it's aroldi would have to make the ultimate decision to evacuate the platform this is real apples of you they are shaped to actually when it when it enters the waters to to bring us as far as possible away from the installation that's why it's shaped like this this is the master area where it's a safe area we meet up when the alarm occurs and because we have the lifeboats three lifeboats and when I arrived as last one and read lifeboats I use these buttons here to shift on everything on board and then are going to my lifeboat this lifeboat number two and then I go here and Harris where we have this right infrequent regulation system you know the sound and you get green light and my name is pops up there so whenever everyone is mustering you see steady start filling up with names for this these are the seats and the lifeboats it's not very comfortable but it's it's a good evacuation equipment specially designed for oil platforms these lifeboats can get past a burning oil slick after a 20 meter dive in the icy North Sea as captain Harold has the difficult responsibility of giving the evacuation order at the risk perhaps leaving people behind if someone is missing and there is a danger for the for the others there's always a dilemma that's of course you think about and and and of course you you you have to then consider or evaluate if it's possible to do anything for the one that is missing and if you are fitting into into danger the others so it's it's a dilemma but we need to handle it when it comes free on at nightfall after 12 hours of work everyone can enjoy the leisure activities available on the platform and there are many of them let's go for a tour with Stein add the mechanic even if the work hours that you are very long we work a minimum of 12 hours every day the few hours we have left and is spent in different ways we have this living room where you can have a game of cards and we have a small library with a lot of books and weekly magazines from gossip to interior is for every interests interior decorating is probably not his thing 14 days on the platform that's all they are not supposed to leave in his library so computer enthusiasts the platform has a great place to relax we need leaks of short because the platforms are so high-tech that without the geeks we couldn't be operating the platform so we need that this is the Sunbird there is no possibility to get to 10 outside here because when you are leaving this living Porter and to go outside on the platform we always have to wear a helmet safety glasses and the coverall so no time even if the Sun is up and it's a summer day never fear there's something for movie fans to a 50-seat movie theater the folding seats are on bleachers that can be moved to make room for a field hospital for example practical isn't it we have a big screen with projector is same kind as they use in Hollywood studios very expensive and very good projector the very latest equipment mechanic steinort can enjoy his favorite pastime rally driving it's true offshore workers spoiled they had to have something that breaks the ordinary routine that goes along every day working offshore is not just a work it's a lifestyle so I'm prepared for staying here two weeks at the time and I look forward to go to work so I I don't miss anything when I'm here around a final corner in the maze of joah Steiner shows us a very private place here we have music room next to the electrical cabinets which control the whole platform surprise there's a complete set of musical instruments and on drums introducing Ringo Steiner a few floors up it's a crews atmosphere the rest of the crew has gathered for the traditional weekly bingo and the win I get the latest massager the mongers on the warrior forum open hopper Road oh yeah mr. Vitti yeah no black guy on your Stein our prefers to be seated for his massages and then enjoy ten minutes good massage after a long day's work is quite comfortable actually ah before leaving Harold the big boss wants to take us to a place full of promise there's spare razor slots oh this is for the future of Europe what we all are aiming for is that we find some more oil in the area we connect connective else to do your process it in here and of course extend the lifetime of you are two maybe twice the time that we have knows or 30 years let's that's this the golem and the dream we have so jam the nurse it's time to go the helicopter carrying the relief team has just landed Jan's going home to see his wife and children and spend four weeks enjoying his favorite pastime fishing a godsend you have to remember our two weeks job of forests 172 hours man hours to work and that's it's the same as gone mom so we work really hard when you're pressing that platform so it's good to be home and relax for some days yawn ingen a ttle and the others freely admit they wouldn't switch careers for the world despite the ever-present risk despite the sometimes difficult isolation they found a balance in this very unusual lifestyle they also know that the fruit of their labors will benefit their children the Norwegian state deposits part of the revenues from Joe Royle in a sovereign investment fund for future generations you

Channel: undefined

Views: 372,127

Rating: 4.7933364 out of 5

Keywords: Gjøa

Id: Zk6LSJ39q1E

Length: 48min 19sec (2899 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 27 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/Online_Host]

Love these documentaries, thank you very much! Cheers!

[u/Whadios]

Hatted being dunked in the helicopter. Looks like these guys were lucky and didn't have to deal with ejecting the windows and got to use breathers as well. Two weeks on for 4 weeks off seems like a better than average deal though.

[u/avaslash]

Well looks like I'll be moving to a oil rig off of Norway now.

[u/fearluck]

Great documentary

[u/catloversunite]

Norway!!