This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.
Chinese well-drilling workers In South China Sea
Series, Jury Honorable Mention
Aerial photo taken on July 29, 2020 shows the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform and its supply ship in the northern waters of the South China Sea.
Workers arrive at the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform by a support ship in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 10, 2020.
Workers fulfill a well-drilling task which requires a lot of physical strength on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 26, 2020.
A worker drops to the sea by cable to fulfill a well-drilling task on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 25, 2020.
A worker fulfills a well-drilling task, which requires great physical strength, on a platform dozens of meters high on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 26, 2020.
Workers try to stabilize drilling equipment weighing many tons to fulfill a well-drilling task on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 27, 2020.
A worker on duty takes a short break on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 27, 2020. Many workers are engaged in heavy physical work day and night on the offshore oil platform.
The deck of the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea on July 21, 2020.
Workers watch TV and chat after work on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 23, 2020. The life of the workers is so boring that watching TV and chatting are the few ways to rest after work.
A worker exercises, which is almost his only sport after work, on the helicopter deck of the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 26, 2020.
A worker calls his family via satellite phone on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 27, 2020
A worker’s face is bathed in sweat while working on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 22, 2020.