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7 October 2016
“I haven’t worked in the industry for very long but I have been fortunate to work on some interesting projects. Recently I was a part of the salvage team for the Troll Solution rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Last year the rig collapsed due to a fault in one of its legs and we were asked to recover some of its parts.”
A change of heart
Rigger Joao Conde was born in Portugal and had been working in the construction industry for most of his life however, 2 years ago he had a change of heart, “my brother-in-law had been working offshore for 18 years and when work in Portugal started to dry up he suggested to go and look for a job in the industry. Although the market was down I was still able to find work as a Roustabout. In the beginning I did find it a little strange due to the rotation and being away from my family for so long, but now I have gotten used to it and I’m very pleased with the decision I made.”
Future ambitions
Since he began his career offshore in 2013 Joao has wanted to develop his career as a Crane Operator, “I’ve always been interested in working on heavy lift operations and using the cranes offshore. First you need to become an Assistant Crane Operator before you get to operate the machines. I decided I wanted to follow this path when I was placed on a project in Abu Dhabi, where the project was focused on the construction and extension of satellite platforms. On some of the platforms we had to replace the boat landing; a single piece that weighed about 45 tonnes this manoeuvre also involved working with divers as well. It was our job to lift the construction pieces and hold them in place, it was quite challenging as the platforms were very small and we had to do 70 tonne lifts. I also got to bank the crane and replace the Deck Foreman so I could guide the manoeuvre during the lift. Before working in Abu Dhabi I was working in the North Sea on an accommodation rig but I didn’t find it that interesting. That’s why I want to go back onto the project in Mexico as this involves major crane operations.”
Growing up with Atlas
After leaving the project in Abu Dhabi, Joao transferred to Atlas to follow his ambitions on Platforms and Jack Ups, “I have been working with Atlas since May of this year and this is definitely the best agency I have worked for. I work through the office in Hoofddorp with Account Manager Désirée van der Sluis, she’s a really great person to work with and she is very responsive if I have any questions or problems that need to be solved.
All the work you do offshore gives you a chance to grow personally and professionally,” explains Joao. “My experience in construction allowed me to work in the offshore industry and my work as a Rigger has allowed me to grow in crane ops, I’m looking forward to what the future will bring.”
