Dubai Civil Aviation Authority president Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who is also chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline, witnessed the sail-away and completion ceremony to celebrate the occasion.
Drydocks World, which provides maritime and offshore services to the shipping, oil, gas and energy sectors, said that at almost 100m high, weighing over 11,000 tonnes and with a diameter of 26m, the turret would ensure the Prelude FLNG facility can "operate safely in the most extreme weather conditions".
"This innovative FLNG storage and production facility will be stationed by Shell at its Prelude gas field off the northwest coast of Australia, unlocking new essential energy resources offshore to meet growing demand," Drydocks said.
Drydocks constructed the world's largest turret for SBM Offshore, Technip and Shell.
"The excellent teamwork and dedicated personnel involved ensured the highest possible standards in safety, quality and operational excellence," the Dubai firm said.
The turret project was completed with over 5 million loss time injury-free man hours completed, which the company said was a testament to the "impeccable" safety record the organisation maintained.
"This project confirms Drydocks World's position as a leader in turret fabrication, strengthening the company's position as one of the few worldwide specialists capable of delivering such large-scale projects," the company said.
Drydocks has delivered five modules for the Shell FLNG turret mooring system, and said the delivery of module five represented the completion of the "crown jewel" of this project, with the turret being the heart of the Prelude FLNG.
"Dubai is well known for their record-breaking construction projects, and completion of the world's largest turret is Drydocks World's contribution towards the continuation of recording breaking projects in Dubai," the company said.
"This project exemplifies the global nature of the offshore industry, with designs completed in Monaco, construction in Dubai, the modules shipped to South Korea, and for use off Australia, together our companies have come together to create innovative technology for the global energy sector."
Drydocks World has worked with SBM Offshore on several key projects.
Along with a strategic alliance agreement with Shell on the repair and maintenance side, the Dubai company has also worked with Technip on many occasions.
