Crestchic Loadbanks has successfully tested and commissioned six Hyundai 9.5MVA diesel engines aboard the Noble Sam Croft – a state-of-the-art ultra-deepwater drillship operated by Noble Corporation.
Based off the coast of North America, the Noble Sam Croft is an oil service/drilling ship built in 2014. With an overall length of 229m, a deadweight of 41,000 tons, and the ability to drill to a depth of 40,000ft, the Sam Croft is a large, high-specification drillship. The ship isn’t just impressive in terms of physical size and capacity, but also in strategic and operational importance – it is typically contracted by major energy companies for long-term exploration and production campaigns, making it a vital asset for the oil and gas industry.
The diesel generators on the Noble Sam Croft sit at the very heart of its power system. They are responsible for supporting every essential onboard function, from propulsion and positioning to drilling operations and life support systems. In offshore environments where failure is not an option, it is vital that each generator is proven to perform at full capacity under real-world conditions.
Precision testing in extreme conditions
Over a period of two weeks, Crestchic worked alongside Noble’s global team of commissioning engineers from Texas, Poland, Korea, and the UK to test the vessel’s power systems, ensuring full operational readiness for ongoing deployment off the coast of South America.
To fully test the engines, the Crestchic team supplied 2 x 6MVA 480V resistive-reactive load banks, 2 x 6MVA 11kV/480V transformers, 15m 150mm LV cables, a distribution board and cables, and a spares kit. The team tested each of the six diesel generators by bringing them up to 100% capacity. In doing so, engineers were able to confirm operational stability under full load (steady state testing), measure dynamic responsiveness to sudden changes in demand (transient testing), and verify synchronised performance across multiple generators (load sharing tests).
Dawn Craft, Business Development Manager, at Crestchic explains, “Power systems support every essential function on board, including dynamic positioning, drilling, and operational/support systems. Accurate and reliable loadbank commissioning isn’t just procedural, it is the foundation of ensuring the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the entire rig. A power imbalance, system overload, or failure during drilling or transit, could result in downtime that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per day, or, worse, safety incidents.”
Flawless equipment, trusted results
Crestchic’s loadbanks performed reliably and accurately throughout the two-week operation. All six engines passed testing, and the commissioning was completed on time and to the highest technical standards.
Igor Astrakhovych – PMP, Cheng, Marine Project Engineer and Scope Responsible from the Noble Sam Croft team commented: “Noble owns and operates one of the most modern, technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry. Testing our critical power equipment is an important step in ensuring our fleet is properly maintained to deliver safe, efficient, and reliable operations. The equipment from Crestchic was the most accurate and reliable I have seen during engine testing.”
Speaking about the job, Crestchic Engineer Steve commented “It was a fantastic experience and a great outcome for both the customer, and Crestchic. The customer praised both the professional condition of the loadbanks and the smooth execution of the job. We hope this marks the beginning of a long and productive relationship with Noble.”
