Blipfoto: Jan Berghuis

Monday 12 July 2010: Finished: The modules to be scrapped here in Vats were offloaded in record time. This morning only some completion work had to be done and around noon we were ready to disconnect all the moorings again. The weather was not so good last night, but this morning the wind changed to a northerly direction. You can see that if you look to the sky, bright blue skies on the right and threatening clouds to the left. It is typical cold sector weather. At this very moment we are almost ready for departure, the Husky is busy with the last mooring while we are already connected to the mainbridle of the Hermod. On this picture you can see the heaviest module on the quay, waiting to bes scrapped and recycled Photograph: Jan Berghuis Terschelling/Blipfoto

Tuesday 13 July 2010: Smiley: This is one of our most experienced assistant engineers, Bujang also known as Mohammed Lutfi. At least twenty years with us on our tugs and his nickname is Smiley, and it is obvious where that comes from. Apparently Smiley loves green, the engines are green, his cap and even his cloth where he is wiping the engines with is green. Tomorrow we'll be back on the next Ekofisk location, this time we will start a Make Safe Campaign on the Edda Platform Photograph: Jan Berghuis Terschelling/Blipfoto

Wednesday 14 July 2010: Greater Ekofisk was and still is the original name of the complete field. Although we put already a lot of effort in dismantling and removing quite a lot platforms and jackets, it is still an awful big complex as you can see on this picture. It means that were not done yet here, not this year and not next year as well. Greater Ekofisk will need an extremely lot of manhours before we can call her Smaller Ekofisk Photograph: Jan Berghuis/Blipfoto

Thursday 15 July 2010: Edda make Safe: Yesterday evening we started our new assignment; the make safe of the Ekofisk Edda Platform. You can see the hydraulic gangway from the Hermod resting on the platform, providing a safe access for all personnel. The clouds are telling us that the weather will change and I have to hurry to the bridge now because the Hermod wants us to connect our tow wire to her stern, taking over some tension from her anchor wires. Tomorrows Blip will be something completely different because it will be Nr.500, a Milestone! Photograph: Jan Berghuis/Blipfoto

Friday 16 July 2010: Blip 500: I had another 500th Blip picture published, but it contravened a number of the rules of Blipfoto and was removed from Blip. A pity because it was a nice picture of our Queen. Never mind, I had another one, although not as sharp as the picture of our Queen. What you see here is not a drill, it is the fast rescue craft of the stand by vessel Esvagt Beta recovering a lifebuoy with light from the steep seas. It belonged to a fishing vessel from Norway, but luckily enough there were no people in the water. Maybe H.M gives permission to publish a picture of herself when I reach Blip #1000, but for the time being you have to do it with this one as nr.500 Photograph: Jan Berghuis/Blipfoto

Saturday 17 July 2010: Crewbasket Transfer is considered as a scary activity by a lot of people. Even a lot of experienced crewmembers don't like it. The original Billy Pugh baskets were made of soft ropes, you have to be pretty experienced to work with this one because you have to grab the basket at exact the right spot when coming up and you have to step on the outside of the basket as well. This version as you see here is rigid. You have to step inside the basket and can grab yourself on a spot you want. But it won't make any difference for people afraid of height. Soft or rigid, the height is the same. And the fear also I guess Photograph: Jan Berghuis/Blipfoto

Sunday 18 July 2010: Competitor: This is our competitor in this branche, the Italian cranevessel Saipem 7000. It seems as if he is following for almost a year now. Last October he followed us from Normay to Brazil, in spring from Brazil to the North Sea, and now he is working very close on our location on the Valhall Field. To show us that he is a real competitor, he lifted a very heavy and impressive module of 11.000 tons from a barge and put it on the jacket. We left our location at 03:00 am and were just too late to see that happen. They were already unhooking the cranes when we showed up for some spy work. As always 'moment supreme' happened in the middle of the night. On this latitude it is dark from 24:00 till 04:00 and the lifting took place right in between. That's also Murphy's Law Photograph: Jan Berghuis/Blipfoto