They’re far out at sea. But still close to our lives.
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Crew aboard the Eagle Balder working to retrieve the pipeline for loading
Story & photos: Colin Dobinson, Equinor
Shuttle tankers — are they the ships we can’t manage without?
At work far beyond the horizon of the North Sea are specialised seafarers few of us have heard of — but on whom our daily lives depend. We went to sea to meet the crew of a shuttle tanker, find out how they work — and to follow a very special cargo from oilfield to refinery.
Gullfaks, 4 May 2026: The lights of the oil platform that were glowing ahead of us moments ago are suddenly shrouded from view by a blizzard. Only our deck lights remain amidst the scudding flakes. Captain Arne Hermundsli (36) on the oil tanker Eagle Balder keeps his eyes firmly fixed on the radar screen.
“If you ask the man in the street, not many people have heard of shuttle tankers. But we’re actually quite critical infrastructure for society,” he says, adjusting the ship’s course with a joystick.
A blizzard suddenly envelopes the bridge on “Eagle Balder” as we approach the Gullfaks field.
After many years in the shuttle tanker fleet, Hermundsli knows the rhythm of the North Sea well. He recently took command of Eagle Balder after more than a decade on her sister vessel, Eagle Bergen — in a branch of shipping where experience and specialist knowledge are crucial.
Now we’re edging closer to the loading zone in the Gullfaks field for another load of crude.
Shuttle tankers are like floating pipelines, carrying energy to Europe. Without us, society would grind to a halt
Captain Arne Hermundsli
Master Mariner on Eagle Balder
“This is a very specialised part of shipping,” Hermundsli says. “You can’t simply take an officer from a supply vessel and put them to work here. It takes many years to build up the expertise needed for shuttle tanker operations. The courses are long and expensive, and you need to understand everything from loading and discharging crude oil to explosion zones and safety systems.”
And it’s a busy industry these days, he explains.
“In the past, we might spend periods at anchor,” says Hermundsli. “That’s all over now. There are a lot of ships, and the market is tight. The demand for energy from the North Sea to Europe never stops.”
What is a shuttle tanker?
A shuttle tanker is a specialised oil tanker that collects crude oil directly from offshore fields. The oil is pumped on board through a loading system in the bow. A shuttle tanker can carry around 800,000 barrels of oil in a single cargo, transporting it to refineries and terminals in Europe.
Shuttle tankers were developed for North Sea conditions, where weather, waves and long distances made traditional loading buoys and pipelines impractical. The latest generation of vessels is the result of long-term collaboration between Equinor, shipowners and maritime specialists.
Photo: With permission from AET Tankers
Gullfaks by night
It’s close to midnight as we glide into the loading zone a few hundred metres from Gullfaks A. The snowstorm has abated, and the night lies calm and still over the sea.
Dotted around us are installations with familiar names — Statfjord, Oseberg, Snorre — a neighbourhood of giants separated by sea.
The VHF radio crackles with messages as the platforms’ lights shimmer on the water — signs of life from an offshore community where hundreds of people are at work around the clock. Deep below us, stored in the vast concrete cells of the platform’s substructure on the seabed, millions of barrels of crude oil are waiting to be pumped aboard.
But there is no visible infrastructure on the surface of the sea; no loading buoy to moor to. Nor does the ship drop anchor. Technological development has rendered them superfluous.
The ship that never anchors
Instead, the soundscape on board changes. The vibration of the main engines gives way to the hum of generators as the vessel activates one of its most important functions: dynamic positioning.
Beneath the hull, three steerable thruster columns descend metres into the sea like giant hand mixers. Using satellite navigation, gyroscope sensors and automated steerable propellers — so-called Azimuths — the ship can stay almost perfectly still without anchors or mooring lines. For Eagle Balder and her sister vessels, this is what makes modern offshore loading possible — and allows huge oil cargoes to be collected directly from fields far out at sea.
This is ‘Eagle Balder’
At 277 metres, Eagle Balder is longer than two and a half football pitches. Fully loaded, she can carry around 844,000 barrels of crude oil—roughly the volume of 54 Olympic swimming pools.
Built for AET in 2020 for long-term charter to Equinor, and operated by AET and OSM Thome
Operates on the Norwegian and UK continental shelves, including the North Sea and Barents Sea
Runs on both LNG and recovers VOC gases — evaporated hydrocarbons from the crude oil — and uses them as fuel, reducing CO₂ emissions by up to 48 per cent compared to equivalent vessels built in 2008. Image with permission from AET Tankers
“If it starts with chaos, it ends with chaos”
In charge of the loading operation is chief officer Arnvid Myklebust, 36, who with an aura of effortless control keeps order of manpower, machinery and millions of barrels of crude.
“The skipper has overall responsibility, but the chief officer handles much of the practical day-to-day operation — loading, discharge, planning, tests and checklists,” he explains.
“You have to be a bit of a jack-of-all trades” says chief officer Arnvid Myklebust, seen here in the cargo control room.
”There are a lot of things that have to be done at the right time. It can be hectic, but I enjoy the responsibility. There are chemical systems, power systems and process systems all over the vessel. You have to be a bit of a jack-of-all-trades and know a little about a great many things. But if you want a secure job, this is a good industry to be in,” he says.
“At the same time, there are clear requirements from Equinor for how things are to be done, and that’s a good thing. They have also made it a requirement that Scandinavian languages are used on the bridge. It’s all about safe communication and making sure people understand one another,” he says.
“Equinor also carries out its own inspections and vetting — the extensive quality assurance and approval process for vessels operating for oil companies — to check that we maintain the standards expected of us,” says Myklebust.
A well-run ship is never down to just one person. It’s always a team effort, and the interaction between people, that keep a ship running.
Arnvid Myklebust
Chief officer on Eagle Balder
Hauling the pipeline aboard
Second officer David Manukyan, 32, gathers the work team for a short toolbox meeting before the loading operation begins
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The serpent from the deep
While Eagle Balder holds its position precisely, the crew prepare to retrieve the loading hose from the seabed and connect it to the bow. A few metres away, the standby vessel Stril Merkur is winching a line from 150 metres below the surface.
It’s already past midnight when second officer David Manukyan, 32, gathers the work team for a short toolbox meeting before the loading operation begins. These safety briefings are standard procedure on board and are used to review roles and risks before all operations. Everyone needs to know exactly what they are doing — and how to do it safely — and Eagle Balder has had not suffered personnel injuries since she entered service.
The crew take cover in the bow as a line is shot across from the standby vessel using a small harpoon. Then Eagle Balder takes the weight of the loading hose itself using her own winches — taking over an hour to haul the pipe weighing tens of tonnes into place.
With steel bars and steady hands, the crew guide the lines onto the drum as the hose is raised towards the coupling. When the locks finally snap shut, they huddle around the steam radiators and pass welcome bars of chocolate from hand to hand, regaining their warmth. Even in May, the night is bitter out here. As soon as pressure testing the oil connection has been completed, the crew can turn in for a well-earned night’s rest — and the loading itself can begin.
The golden hour
As the sun climbs the next morning, Gullfaks A is still pumping crude into the ship. Even at rates of up to 12,000 cubic metres of crude oil an hour, it takes almost an entire day to fill the tanks on board Eagle Balder.
And this cargo has a particular significance, as cargo number five thousand from Gullfaks since production began in 1986. The occasion is marked with celebrations and a cream cake delivered to the vessel by SAR helicopter on exercise — and received on deck with broad smiles by the captain and bosun on behalf of the crew.
Gullfaks cargo GF5000 — 799,091 barrels of crude oil in all — has been bought by St1 and is now bound for their refinery in Gothenburg, where it will be turned into petrol, diesel, jet fuel and marine fuel for the Nordic market.
But perhaps it’s what this cargo represents that is just as important: one small part of a system linking the Norwegian continental shelf to Europe — and a reminder of how closely life on land is still connected to the sea out here.
Celebrating Gullfaks cargo No. 5000
To mark the milestone, Eagle Balder receives a visit from a SAR (search and rescue) helicopter training to lower a rescue man onto the deck — with a cake for the crew. From left: SAR rescue specialist Eirik Sjøholt, Captain Arne Hermundsli and bosun Paulo M. Matillano
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A milestone for Gullfaks
In early May, Gullfaks in the North Sea delivered oil cargo number 5,000. When production began in 1986, the field was expected to operate until around 2007. Today, weekly oil cargoes are still being shipped from the field.
So far, Gullfaks has produced around 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent — almost twice the original estimate.
It’s evening before loading is complete and the hose is disconnected. At around 8.30 pm, Eagle Balder sets sail for Gothenburg, several metres deeper in the water than when we arrived.
Her speed is determined by Equinor’s shipping office, and with the next cargo already waiting at the Norne field, several days’ sailing away, it’s higher than usual: 12.5 knots, or 23 kilometres an hour. At sea, the vessel is largely steered by autopilot, but the bridge is never unmanned. The system keeps the course — but it does not give way to other traffic.
Here we meet third officer and officer of the watch Timmy Christiansen, 26. Despite his young age, he moves with the calm assurance that comes from years of experience in the North Sea — having worked here since 2018.
“Everything ultimately comes up to the bridge — that is where the responsibility lies. We have very capable people on board, and there is a strong safety culture. Equinor’s requirements are very clear,” says dekk officer Timmy Christiansen.
“My father was an electrician on shuttle tankers, so I always knew this was what I wanted to do,” he says. “Now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Sitting ashore in a nine-to-five job isn’t for me. Here, you wake up at work. It’s a way of life.”
Christiansen describes both the freedom and the challenges of four-week rotations at sea — and how close the crew become over time.
“Sometimes they almost become a second family. We keep track of each other’s lives.”
We need to start recruiting as early as secondary school. Not many people know about shuttle tankers — we tend to go a bit under the radar.
Timmy N. Christiansen
Deck officer
He is concerned that too few young people know about maritime careers in general, and shuttle tankers in particular.
“Almost nobody knows about seafaring as a career. There’s a shortage of people, and you hardly need to apply — they call you.”
Life onboard ‘Eagle Balder’
Deck officer Timmy Christiansen holds a safety briefing before departure from harbour
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“At the end of the day, we’re shuttle tanker people”
Someone who works actively on recruitment to the industry is Bjarte Kvinge-Askheim, fleet manager at OSM Thome.
OSM Thome operate Eagle Balder for Equinor on behalf of AET Tankers. After many years’ experience on shuttle tankers himself, he now coordinates four vessels in the fleet from the office in Arendal.
“It’s important to show young people that we are at the forefront of technology and the environment. The generation growing up today is more concerned about these things than previous generations,” he says.
The VOC system recovers gases from the cargo, and we use it as fuel to create energy onboard. There are very few ships that have this technology.
Bjarte Kvinge-Askheim
Fleet Manager at OSM Thome
“Emissions and sustainable development are very important to us. We are continuously working on projects to reduce emissions from the vessels. The VOC system on board recovers the gases produced during loading and uses them as fuel instead of releasing them into the atmosphere. It is highly sophisticated technology, and only a handful of vessels in the world have this on board. We are proud to be at the forefront of this development.”
“When we have strong partners in the North Sea, such as Equinor and the other operators, it makes it possible to keep driving this development forward. Reducing emissions is really a licence to operate for the entire industry,” he says.
The black gold comes ashore
Gullfaks cargo number 5,000 has reached the end of its journey — for now, at least. Eagle Balder ties up at the oil terminal at Torslanda outside Gothenburg, and discharge can begin.
Large steel pipes carry the oil into rock caverns and storage tanks on land. Representatives from the customer, St1, come on board to mark the milestone together with the crew and shipowner.
A delegation of visitors from St1, Equinor, AET Tankers and OSM Thome join Captain Arne Hermundsli (centre) on the bridge of the Eagle Balder.
“We’re very fortunate to have Equinor as a partner in this market,” says Henrikki Talvitie, chairman of St1.
“The energy market over the past few years has been like a rollercoaster. First came the pandemic, then the energy crisis and geopolitical unrest. In such a market, stable deliveries and good collaboration are absolutely essential. We are very pleased with our cooperation with Equinor.”
“Equinor is very good to work with. We have close contact with the trading teams and the logistics organisation, and the logistics work very well. That makes operations more predictable for us as a relatively small company with a smaller refinery,” he says.
“We are continuously working to optimise operations at the refinery. That is why we use a lot of crude from the North Sea. Gullfaks is a grade that suits our refinery very well.”
Gullfaks: the “champagne” of crude oils
We don’t recommend drinking it, but industry experts sometimes refer to the crude from Gullfaks as the “champagne of oils” because of its quality and gas content.
Gullfaks produces a light crude oil with low sulphur content — the kind refiners often describe as a “sweet crude”. The oil is attractive because it gives a high yield of products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel, while also blending well with other crude grades.
“Energy matters enormously to society. Oil is still essential for transport, industry and the movement of goods. That is the reality”
Timo Jokinen
CEO, St1
Invisible — until they’re no longer there
“Energy matters enormously to society. Oil is still essential for transport, industry and the movement of goods. That is the reality,” says Timo Jokinen at St1 — the customer of Gullfaks cargo number 5000, in Gothenburg.
Heating, transport, clothing, plastics and medical equipment. Much of everyday life still begins with oil and gas from the North Sea — as energy, as raw materials, and as part of the infrastructure modern society is built on.
Most of us rarely stop to think about how oil is transported from offshore fields to refineries along Europe’s coasts. But around the clock, shuttle tankers are travelling back and forth between the Norwegian continental shelf and the continent. Only when supply lines are threatened and energy prices rise do they become visible to the rest of us.
Oil cargo number 5,000 from Gullfaks represents not only a milestone for one field, but a symbol of Norway’s role as a stable supplier of energy to Europe. At a time of geopolitical unrest, cargoes from the North Sea remain part of the energy flow our societies still depend on.
With thanks to the captain and crew of Eagle Balder, and the staff and management of AET, OSM Thome and St1 for their assistance with this story.
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