Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group Co., Ltd. announced on the 18th that recently, the 400-foot (approximately 122-meter) tall "Guozhan" jack-up drilling platform, under the close supervision of 5 tugboats, slowly sailed from Anchorage No. 2 outside the Qinzhou Port Area of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port into the CSSC Guangxi Wharf in the Qinzhou Port Area, marking the successful completion of this special towing operation, which took 15 hours and covered 18 nautical miles (approximately 33 kilometers).

The photo shows the towing operation site.

It is reported that the towed "Guozhan" is the first 400-foot jack-up drilling platform built in South China. Its hull is triangular, with an overall length of 97.87 meters, a molded breadth of 79.55 meters, a molded depth of 8.23 meters, an operating water depth of 121.93 meters, and a drilling depth of 9,144 meters. The platform has three triangular truss legs, with a total leg length of 170.22 meters. The accommodation area has 5 decks and can accommodate 150 people.

"Due to the complex hull structure, steering during towing is very difficult. It is currently the season of southwest swells in the Beibu Gulf waters, with strong southwest gusts and large sea swells, so this towing operation is very complex," said the person in charge of the Tug Management Department of Beibu Gulf Port Qinzhou Wharf Co., Ltd. During the operation, how to control the towing speed, keep the platform stable and on course, and ensure the safety of the towing operation posed a considerable test for the crew and tug equipment.

The 400-foot-tall "Guozhan" jack-up drilling platform, under the close supervision of tugboats, slowly sailed from Anchorage No. 2 outside the Qinzhou Port Area of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port into the CSSC Guangxi Wharf in the Qinzhou Port Area.

To ensure the safety of the towing operation, Beibu Gulf Port Qinzhou Wharf organized key tug personnel to establish a special towing operation task force, with 3 high-horsepower tugboats participating. Under the guidance of units such as the Qinzhou Maritime Safety Administration and the Qinzhou Pilot Station, a dedicated towing plan was studied and formulated, clarifying the number of operating tugboats and the division of towing positions. After completing preparations such as the towing plan, operational readiness, and precautions, the task force also formulated emergency response measures for unexpected situations such as ship grounding, towline breakage, and tugboat failure, thereby ensuring the success of this towing operation.