Watch This 8400-Tonne Oil Platform Launch In Under A Minute

Watch This 8400-Tonne Oil Platform Launch In Under A Minute

This video of an 8400-tonne steel structure — part of an oil platform — shows how it was launched in the Danish North Sea in under a minute, after a hell of a lot of preparation. It is 93m long by 60m wide, so about the size of a football pitch.

The trick was to fill the barge carrying it with water until it tipped just enough to help it slide off. Floating tanks then kept it buoyant until it was raised to a vertical position and finally lowered onto the seabed in just the right spot.

This video explains how the whole process works and the many stages still to be completed:


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.