Three Stena drill platforms await orders off Gibraltar

Three UK-registered drill platforms operated by Stena Drilling are currently anchored off the east side of the Rock, awaiting orders against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

The Stena IceMAX and Stena DrillMAX arrived into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters from Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, while the Stena Forth arrived from Patia, Peru.

“No crew is permitted to come ashore unless they are being repatriated and the vessel follows our crew change protocol,” a Government spokesman told the Chronicle.

The Stena IceMAX is a ‘harsh environment’ drillship which is capable of drilling in water depths of up to 10,000 feet that can be upgraded to 12,000 feet and a drill depth of 35,000 feet which can be upgraded to 40,000 feet.

She has enough room onboard to accommodate 180 persons which can be upgraded to 220. She has not been in operation since late last year.

The Stena DrillMAX has the same drill depth and accommodation capabilities at its sister ship, Stena IceMAX. She has just completed operating offshore Israel.

The Stena Forth has the same drill depth capabilities as Stena IceMAX and Stena DrillMAX and accommodation for 220 persons. She has recently returned for a drilling campaign in Peru.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the operator of the vessels as Stena Line. The company is in fact Stena Drilling and the article has been corrected.

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