Bourbon Mobility has successfully completed an innovative four-month contract with Subsea 7 (Sept. to December 2020). The end-to-end “Airport-to-Rig” service covered the organisation and execution of all aspects of transportation for more than 1,000 personnel rotations during the Zinia 2 project on Block 17, Angola. Jointly designed with the client, the service increases efficiency and cuts costs. One of the architects of the service, Guillaume Vassout, Chartering Development Manager – Global Projects Centre at Subsea 7, shares his experience with us.

PartnerSHIP: How did the idea of the Airport-to-Rig contract come about?

Guillaume Vassout: It was the culmination of a collaboration based on a long-standing relationship between Subsea 7 and the BOURBON Group. Rodolphe Bouchet from BOURBON and I had discussed improved ways of working and collaborating together during this time.Three years ago, we held a BOURBON Day at our head office in Suresnes, near Paris. Your team came to talk with our management and all our operational departments. It’s rare for a client to organise a full day like that for a supplier, but it allowed both sides to talk in total transparency. The day was very positive for both groups, solidifying our partnership, and one of the things that emerged was the “airport-to-rig” concept. I would like to thank David Bertin (VP GPC & AP) and Frederic Cescutti (Supply Chain Director GPC & AP) for their participation during this Bourbon day and their support to the implementation of the Airport-to-Rig concept.


PartnerSHIP: The first contract has now been completed. How would you say it went?

G.V.: It’s been very positive for us, because BOURBON has been a facilitator, and has helped us deal with Covid restrictions as well as with decrees in Angola that obliged us to make some changes to our plans. The solutions that Bourbon Mobility found enabled us to keep the project on course. They also helped us to meet local requirements with regard to using local personnel in the project management team, logistic team and onboard vessels. I think it’s also been positive for BOURBON, because it has been able to introduce an innovative concept. It’s created a new business model. I’d say that BOURBON and Subsea 7 have learned together. Without their collaborative spirit, transparency and openness, it could never have happened. Changing working methods that have been solidly established for decades is difficult. Many people are afraid of change. But we decided to move ahead and learn together.
 

PartnerSHIP: How do you think the service could be improved?

G.V.: It’s important to provide the right level of accommodation, corresponding to the standards the crews expect. It’s fair to say there were a few challenges to overcome at the beginning. But we were extremely impressed at how quickly Bourbon Mobility and its local organisation, Sonasurf, acted when we told them about our concerns, the issue was rapidly resolved and that created an extremely good impression. And it was also unfortunate that the timing of the contract, due to impact of Covid-19, added further challenges. Two months before it was due to launch, we had to make radical changes to our plans to comply with the restrictions. Hotels had to be changed, quarantine periods had to be managed, and so on. Once again, the speed with which Bourbon Mobility reacted was very impressive Overall, it’s been a great successand I’m proud that we’ve been able to do this together.

PartnerSHIP: What was the feedback from Subsea 7 personnel?

G.V.: The feedback has been very positive, both locally and at the level of our operations management. It was quite a challenge for our Project Director Benoit Vigot who trusted BOURBON – and trusted me, for that matter! – because it wasn’t necessarily easy to have confidence in a system that had never been tested. Overall, everyone was very satisfied with the way the surfers were managed, and once the teething troubles had been resolved, and especially in the context of the pandemic that we were all facing, the feedback was positive.

PartnerSHIP: What will the next phase be? 

G.V.: We’re already working with François Leslé, Bourbon Mobility CEO, on a pandemic-free “2.0 version” of the service. There could be other forms of collaboration, and we could be looking at countries other than Angola. The concept should work in countries where BOURBON is established and we are not yet present.