The Swedish king inspects Gullfaks

BY OLE KVADSHEIM, NORWEGIAN PETROLEUM MUSEUM

On September 25, 1986, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden visited Stavanger for the first time. During his ten-hour stay in the city, he had the opportunity to take a closer look at both the Gullfaks C substructure and the deck of Gullfaks B.

— The deck of Gullfaks B towers high at Rosenberg Verft as King Carl XVI Gustaf peers eagerly out of the wheelhouse window on the boat. Photo: Equinor

The king was welcomed by Stavanger Mayor Kari Thu (H), Statoil Director Arve Johnsen, and Deputy CEO Henrik Ager-Hanssen. The first item on the agenda was a luncheon at Statoil’s headquarters in Forus, featuring presentations from Statoil, Moss Rosenberg Verft, Norwegian Contractors, and Aker Mekaniske Verksted.

King Carl XVI Gustaf is likely taking in the immense scale as he is shown the construction process in the dry dock. Photo: Equinor

Next, the delegation visited Norwegian Contractors in Hinnavågen, where the concrete substructure for Gullfaks C were under construction. The following stop was Moss Rosenberg Verft, where the deck for Gullfaks B was located. All work at the mechanical quay came to a halt as Deputy Director Hans Frank welcomed the Swedish king. King Carl Gustaf was then taken to the top of the deck, where work was underway to connect modules, walkways, pipes, and cables.[REMOVE]