During a recent Gulf of Mexico expedition, NOAA, BOEM and partners discovered an historic wooden-hulled vessel which is believed to have sunk as long as 200 years ago. Scientists on board the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer used underwater robots with lights and high definition cameras to view remnants of the ship laden with anchors, navigational instruments, glass bottles, ceramic plates, cannons, and boxes of muskets. 

An anemone lives on top of a musket that lies across a whole group of muskets at the site of the shipwreck. Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program)

Equipped with telepresence technology, Okeanos Explorer reached audiences around the world who participated in the expedition through live streaming Internet video. As members of the public ashore watched live video from the ocean bottom, they became “citizen explorers,” sharing in the discovery with maritime archaeologists, scientists and resource managers from a variety of federal, academic, and private organizations.

 The NOAA-funded 56-day expedition that ended April 29 was exploring poorly known regions of the Gulf, mapping and imaging unknown or little-known features and habitats, developing and testing a method to measure the rate that gas rises from naturally-occurring seeps on the seafloor, and investigating potential shipwreck sites.

The shipwreck site was originally identified as an unknown sonar contact during a 2011 oil and gas survey for Shell Oil Company. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requested this and other potential shipwreck sites be investigated during NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico expedition. Surveys and archaeological assessments are required by BOEM to aid in its decision-making prior to issuing permits for bottom-disturbing activities related to oil and gas exploration and development.

While most of the ship's wood has long since disintegrated, copper that sheathed the hull beneath the waterline as a protection against marine-boring organisms remains, leaving a copper shell retaining the form of the ship. The copper has turned green due to oxidation and chemical processes over more than a century on the seafloor. Oxidized copper sheathing and possible draft marks are visible on the bow of the ship.  Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program)

“Artifacts in and around the wreck and the hull’s copper sheathing may date the vessel to the early to mid-19th century,” said Jack Irion, Ph.D., a maritime archaeologist with BOEM. “Some of the more datable objects include what appears to be a type of ceramic plate that was popular between 1800 and 1830, and a wide variety of glass bottles. A rare ship’s stove on the site is one of only a handful of surviving examples in the world and the second one found on a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico.” 

Significant historical events occurring in the regions around the Gulf of Mexico during this time include the War of 1812, events leading to the Texas Revolution, and the Mexican-American War, Irion said.

“Shipwrecks help to fill in some of the unwritten pages of history,” said Frank Cantelas, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. “We explored four shipwrecks during this expedition and I believe this wreck was by far the most interesting and historic. The site is nearly 200 miles off the Gulf coast in over 4,000 feet of water in a relatively unexplored area.”

The expedition also discovered areas exhibiting rich biodiversity. At the base of the West Florida Escarpment, a steep undersea cliff, explorers found a “forest” of deep corals, several of which were new to scientists on the ship and ashore. For several days the expedition team also imaged deep-coral communities in the vicinity of the Macondo oil spill site. On another part of the expedition, team members designed and installed a device on the ship’s undersea robot system, or ROV (remotely-operated vehicle), to measure the rate that gas rises in the water column.

“Testing new methods and technologies is a priority,” said Tim Arcano, director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. “We plan for ocean exploration to foster both follow-on research, and develop new technologies to help ocean resource managers and others better understand, use, and protect our largely unknown ocean and its resources.”

Okeanos Explorer is equipped with: a state-of-the-art multibeam mapping sonar; the Institute for Exploration’s Little Hercules ROV, which made 29 dives; and telepresence technology that uses satellite and high-speed Internet pathways between ship and shore, allowing scientists ashore to participate in the mission in real-time, and general audiences to be “citizen explorers” as the mission unfolds, live.

Background information, web logs from scientists at sea and ashore, video clips, still images, and education lesson plans describing the expedition are online at: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1202/welcome.html.

Partners in the 2012 Gulf of Mexico expedition included a number of NOAA offices, BOEM, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, C&C Technologies, Florida Atlantic University, Geoscience Earth & Marine Services, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University’s Science and Technology Center at Stennis, Naval History and Heritage Command, NOAA Northern Gulf Institute, Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, Tesla Offshore LLC, Institute for Exploration, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Joint Office for Science Support, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of Rhode Island, University of Texas at Austin, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

 Golfinho Area Estimated to Hold 13 to 45 Tcf of Gas in Place

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) has announced the Golfinho exploration well discovered a new, major natural gas accumulation nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of its Prosperidade complex within the Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin. The Golfinho discovery well encountered more than 193 net feet (59 net meters) of natural gas pay in two high-quality Oligocene fan systems that are age-equivalent to, but geologically distinct from, the previous discoveries in the Prosperidade complex.

"The success of the Golfinho well significantly expands the tremendous resource potential of the Offshore Area 1 in the deep-water Rovuma Basin, with additional opportunities yet to test," Anadarko Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Exploration, Bob Daniels said. "The Golfinho discovery, which is entirely contained within the Offshore Area 1 block, adds an estimated 7 to 20-plus Tcf (trillion cubic feet) of incremental recoverable resources over a significant areal extent. This new discovery is only 10 miles offshore, providing potential cost advantages for future development options.

"We are very excited about this new discovery and the value these additional resources represent for the people of Mozambique and our partnership. We look forward to continuing an active exploration program in the highly prospective northern and southern portions of the Offshore Area 1, as well as delineating this new discovery."

The Golfinho exploration well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 14,885 feet (4,537 meters), in water depths of approximately 3,370 feet (1,027 meters). Once operations are complete at Golfinho, the partnership plans to mobilize the Belford Dolphin drillship to drill the Atum-1 exploration well.

Additionally, at the Barquentine-1 well location in the Prosperidade complex, the partnership successfully tested the upper Oligocene zone, which flowed at a facility-constrained rate of approximately 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. This is the third successful drill-stem test flowing at this facility-constrained rate.

Anadarko is the operator in the Offshore Area 1 with a 36.5-percent working interest. Co-owners include Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area 1, Limited (20 percent), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10 percent), Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1 Limited (10 percent) and Cove Energy Mozambique Rovuma Offshore, Ltd. (8.5 percent). Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, ep's 15-percent interest is carried through the exploration phase.

New research from the University of Southampton has devised a new method to more accurately measure gas bubbles in pipelines.

The ability to measure gas bubbles in pipelines is vital to the manufacturing, power and petrochemical industries. In the case of harvesting petrochemicals from the seabed, warning of bubbles present in the crude that is being harvested is crucial because otherwise when these bubbles are brought up from the seabed (where pressure is very high) to the surface where the rig is, the reduction in pressure causes these bubbles to expand and causes ‘blow out’. A blow out is the sudden release of oil and/or gas from a well and issues with the blow out preventer were key in Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the Macondo blowout) in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Currently, the most popular technique for estimating the gas bubble size distribution (BSD) is to send sound waves through the bubble liquid and compare the measured attenuation of the sound wave (loss in amplitude as it propagates) with that predicted by theory.

The key problem is that the theory assumes that the bubbles exist in an infinite body of liquid. If in fact the bubbles are in a pipe, then the assumptions of the theory do not match the conditions of the experiment. That could lead to errors in the estimation of the bubble population.

Now, a team led by Professor Tim Leighton from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton, has devised a new method, which takes into account that bubbles exist in a pipe. Professor Leighton and his team (Post-doctoral research fellows Kyungmin Baik and Jian Jiang) were commissioned to undertake the work as part of an ongoing programme to devise ways of more accurately estimating the BSD for the mercury-filled steel pipelines of the target test facility (TTF) of the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, USA one of the most powerful pulsed neutron sources in the world (www.sns.gov).

The research, which is presented in the Royal Society journal ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society A’, explores how measured phase speeds and attenuations in bubbly liquid in a pipe might be inverted to estimate the BSD (which was independently measured using an optical technique). This new technique, appropriate for pipelines such as TTF, gives good BSD estimations if the frequency range is sufficiently broad.

Professor Leighton says: “The SNS facility was built with the expectation that every so often it would need to be shut down and the now highly radioactive container of the mercury replaced by a new one, because its steel embrittles from radiation damage. However, because the proton beam impacts the mercury and generates shock waves, which cause cavitation bubbles to collapse in the mercury and erode the steel, the replacement may need to be more often than originally planned at full operating power. Indeed, achieving full design power is in jeopardy.

“With downtime associated with unplanned container replacement worth around $12 million, engineers at the facility are considering introducing helium bubbles, of the correct size and number, into the mercury to help absorb the shock waves before they hit the wall, so that the cavitation bubbles do not erode the steel. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Science and Facilities Research Council (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, RAL) commissioned us as part of their programme to devise instruments to check that their bubble generators can deliver the correct number and size of bubbles to the location where they will protect the pipelines from erosion.

“This paper reports on the method we devised half-way through the research contract. It works, but just after we designed it the 2008 global financial crash occurred, and funds were no longer available to build the device into the mercury pipelines of ORNL. A more affordable solution had to be found, which is what we are now working on. The original design has been put on hold for when the world is in a healthier financial state. This has been a fantastic opportunity to work with nuclear scientists and engineers from ORNL and RAL.”

1. The 1.4 billion dollar Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Tennessee, is the most powerful pulsed neutron source in the world. It fires a beam of protons using a linear accelerator hundreds of metres long, into 20 tonnes of pumped liquid mercury. Specialised neutron instruments (funded by the U. S. Department of Energy and other institutes) are built in a circle around the source to catch the beams of neutrons and use them to probe the internal structures of materials, such as test aircraft wings, forensic samples and biomedical products.

2. The University of Southampton is celebrating its 60th anniversary during 2012.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, granted the Royal Charter that enabled the University of Southampton to award its own degrees in the early weeks of her reign in 1952.

In the six decades to follow, Southampton has risen to become one of the leading universities in the UK with a global reputation for innovation through academic excellence and world-leading research.

Gov. Bobby Jindal and Metal Shark Boats LLC executive Matthew Unger announces the company will make a $1.9 million capital investment, which will allow it to complete a contract to build 500 Response Boat-Small patrol vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard over the next seven years. Along with creating 106 new jobs with an average starting salary of about $45,000, plus benefits, the project will retain 75 existing jobs and result in an estimated 164 indirect jobs in Iberia Parish and across Acadiana.

Metal Shark will produce the second generation of a 29-foot-long vessel that has a top speed in excess of 50 mph. The boats will be used for port, waterway, and coastal security; for search and rescue missions; for drug interdiction cases; for immigration-related operations; for fisheries enforcement; and for defense readiness and law enforcement missions.

Gov. Jindal said, "Metal Shark is another outstanding example of Louisiana-based companies that are meeting the rigorous demands of military customers like the U.S. Coast Guard while providing great new jobs for our people. Metal Shark's work for the Coast Guard continues our state's long history of helping the military protect the nation's interests. We should take great pride in knowing that the hardworking men and women of Louisiana are building the tools our military uses to protect the homeland."

Metal Shark won a $192 million U.S. Coast Guard contract in November to build the Response Boat-Small, a type of watercraft adopted by the Coast Guard in response to its broader homeland security mission after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. Once the expansion is completed and full production is achieved, the facility will produce one boat every four or five days. The company also is building other boat classes for the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, local law enforcement agencies and foreign militaries.

"Metal Shark is excited to be working with Louisiana Economic Development in creating a program that will help grow our company, create new jobs for the community, and help further our goal of providing the best possible product to our customers," said Unger, the chief operating officer and vice president of Metal Shark Boats.

The state began working with Metal Shark on the project in early 2011 and will provide the company with the services of LED FastStart™, the nation's top-rated state workforce development program. Metal Shark also is expected to utilize Louisiana's Industrial Tax Exemption and Quality Jobs incentive programs.

Anyone interested in working for Metal Shark Boats may attend a job fair conducted by the company and LED FastStart on Friday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The job fair will take place at the New Iberia campus of South Louisiana Community College, 908 Ember Drive in New Iberia. Positions the company seeks to fill include welders and fitters, marine mechanics, marine electricians, general shop hands, CNC operators and press brake operators.

Port Hedland is a key export location for Australian iron ore exports. BHP Billiton is undertaking development of a 100-million-tonne-a-year outer harbour expansion at the port. 

GHD, a global engineering and environmental services firm, commissioned the system to provide marine water quality data from monitoring sites located in areas surrounding the port dredging operations.

OceanStar enables near real-time monitoring of various water quality parameters required for environmental compliance reporting associated with activities such as dredging and marine construction.

The multi-award winning system acquires data from in-situ water quality sensors by integrating subsea, satellite and internet technologies. It offers global coverage through Iridium satellite telemetry, and has a unique design that allows sensors, instrumentation and electronic equipment to be located below the surface or on the seabed, rather than on the surface or suspended from data buoys. This configuration enables low cost system deployment due to the small size of the relay buoys and correspondingly reduced mooring requirements. It also reduces vulnerability to extreme weather events, theft, vandalism and collisions. The system can be integrated with various types of sensors, depending on the application.

Since 2007 the OceanStar system has been deployed at some of Australia’s largest offshore energy development projects, including Woodside Energy’s Pluto project and Chevron Australia’s Gorgon project. The system has proven reliability in some of the most demanding marine conditions, including in cyclonic weather.

The system delivers sensor data to users anywhere in the world within seconds via an online marine data management system. The system is not restricted in its deployment by the limited offshore range of cellular networks, making it ideal for use in remote locations. It can also be easily re-deployed from one project to the next due to its modular design. The system offers extended endurance capability with low maintenance requirements when compared to conventional data buoy systems, significantly reducing the cost of operation.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard said the administration’s report on idle oil and natural gas leases is a political ploy designed to distract American voters from the administration’s failed energy policy.

“Once again, the administration is trotting out claims about idle leases to divert attention from the fact it has been restricting oil and natural gas development, leasing less often, shortening lease terms, and going slow on permit approvals—actions which have undermined public support for the administration on energy. It is also increasing or threatening to increase industry’s development costs through higher taxes, higher royalty rates, and higher minimum lease bids.

“It’s absurd to contend the industry pays the government billions of dollars every year in bonus bids and rents to leave land idle. It develops leases as expeditiously as it can – often in the face of inordinate delays the administration’s own policies create. The administration is being willfully misleading when it identifies leases as idle when companies are seeking approvals of plans or permits or fighting lawsuits. Just last week, the administration finally approved drilling on leases out in Utah after a four year permitting delay. From 2009 through 2011, the industry spent $600 billion to explore and drill for oil and natural gas in the United States, activity which accounted for three percent of all jobs created during that period.

“The oil and natural gas industry explores its leases as quickly as possible, paying rent and other fees as it does so, and returns tracts to the government that do not contain economically recoverable amounts of oil and natural gas.”

API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.

The agreement does not involve any change of stakes in the production licence (PL 036D).

“Statoil is interested in good area solutions. We therefore find it natural that Marathon, as the biggest operator in the area, gets to optimise the values for the licensees,” says Jannicke Nilsson, Statoil’s head of operations North Sea West.

Thanks to this transfer of operatorship a rig that was planned to be used for the Vilje South development will be available for other Statoil drilling jobs.

Portfolio management is a priority area in Statoil’s strategy, and the Norwegian continental shelf emerges as an area where such focus may add value.

In recent years Statoil has carried out several transactions and signed joint venture agreements to position Statoil as a financially robust, technology-focused upstream company.

This includes the agreement to sell assets to Centrica, the acquisition of Hess’ stake in the Snøhvit field, and the purchase and sales agreement with Total on the Valemon and Hild fields, which are under development.

The agreement with Marathon takes effect on 1 September 2012 subject to the approval of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

The Vilje development includes two subsea wells tied in to the Alvheim production vessel.

The Vilje development includes two subsea wells tied in to the Alvheim production vessel. The field is located some 20 kilometres north-east of the Marathon-operated Alvheim field.

Coming on stream on 1 August 2008 Vilje is expected to produce 21 000 barrels of oil per day in 2012.

An investment decision for Vilje South development has been made in the licence. First oil is expected at the end of 2013.

The licensees in PL 036D are Marathon Oil Norge AS (46.90 percent interest), Statoil Petroleum AS (28.85 percent) and Total E&P Norge AS (24.24 percent).

Energy efficient electric propulsion, reliable power distribution systems for two deepwater pipeline installation vessels to be built by Daewoo in South Korea

 ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, recently won an order worth $18 million from Daewoo to supply energy efficient propulsion and electrical power systems for two new deep sea pipeline installation vessels that will build oil transport infrastructure off the coast of Brazil. The order was booked in the first quarter.

South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) will build the vessels. The end customer, a joint venture between French oil service company Technip  and Brazilian company Odebrecht Oil & Gas, will use the vessels to connect subsea wells with floating installations in depths of up to 2500 meters along the coast of Brazil for oil company Petrobras.

Wärtsila Ship Design developed the new VS 4146 PLV design with a solid tension capacity of 550 metric tons, and designed for optimal fuel consumption and flexible pipe laying operations. ABB’s delivery will help the vessels use less fuel while operating at the highest levels of efficiency.

ABB will supply drives, motors and generators, medium voltage switchgear, transformers and softstarters that will provide energy efficient propulsion and a reliable power distribution system on board.  In addition, ABB will take full project responsibility and do complete engineering for its own scope of supply. The diesel electric propulsion system will significantly reduce fuel consumption compared to traditional diesel mechanical systems. The heart of the propulsion system is ABB's propulsion drives, which are designed for optimized control of the propulsion motors, contributing to reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions.

“ABB’s oil and gas industry expertise, proven marine solutions and subsea experience address the needs of the growing subsea installation service market,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “Our environmentally friendly, energy efficient solutions and solid power infrastructure systems help both oil companies and their suppliers ensure the reliable and efficient operation of their vessels from their very first day in service.”

The two identical vessels will be delivered in 2014.

Excelerate Energy® L.P. is moving forward with the development of the first floating liquefaction facility in the United States utilizing its Floating Liquefaction Storage Offloading vessel (FLSO™) technology. The Lavaca Bay LNG project will be located in Port Lavaca, situated between Galveston and Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast, and will be designed to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to markets worldwide by 2017.

Excelerate Energy’s FLSOcomprises 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of production capacity, 250,000 cubic meters (m³) of LNG storage, and a fully integrated gas processing plant. With this gas processing capability, the FLSO can accommodate a wide range of gas compositions at its inlet making it well suited for virtually any application near shore or offshore. For those situations where gas processing is not required due to presence of existing processing facilities or where pipeline quality gas is used as the feedstock, the processing equipment can be removed and liquefaction capacity increased to 4 MTPA.

The FLSO will measure 338 meters in length, with a breadth of 62 meters. Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) is in an advanced phase and Excelerate is now entering into discussions with potential off takers and natural gas suppliers as well as investors and potential sources of finance to take the project forward. Excelerate Energy expects FEED to last until the end of 2012, and following its completion and successful permitting project delivery will take approximately 44 months from final investment decision (FID).

In its initial phase, the Lavaca Bay LNG project will consist of one permanently moored FLSO with multiple connections to the onshore natural gas grid in South Texas. The project will be designed with the potential for expansion and the addition of a second FLSO over time for a total production capacity of up to 8 MTPA. Excelerate Energy expects to begin the export authorization and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permitting immediately, and is in the process of completing its site-specific final front-end engineering design (FEED) effort.

“Excelerate Energy applies the same philosophy to its liquefaction vessel design as it does to its regasification vessel fleet – essentially using proven technology in an innovative way to provide more efficient and timely solutions to the LNG industry,” stated Rob Bryngelson, Excelerate Energy President and CEO. “Port Lavaca provides us with the unique opportunity to further capitalize on our position as a market leader in floating LNG solutions.”

Excelerate Energy selected Port Lavaca for the site of the facility because of its direct access to the highly liquid south Texas natural gas market, access to the Atlantic Basin through the Gulf of Mexico, and potential access to the Pacific basin with the widening of the Panama Canal. The facility will interconnect to the region’s existing pipeline system in order to obtain natural gas and liquefy it onboard the vessel. The Port Lavaca location being developed by Excelerate Energy has previously received FERC approval as an LNG import facility, which should facilitate the permitting process.

BG Group has announced its fifth consecutive Tanzania gas discovery with the Mzia-1 exploration well located in Block 1, offshore southern Tanzania.

Mzia-1 is BG Group’s first discovery within the deeper Cretaceous section and opens an extensive new play fairway within the Group’s offshore acreage in Blocks 1, 3 and 4, to complement the now proven Tertiary fairway.

Preliminary evaluation of the results indicates 55 meters of natural gas pay in good quality sands.  An extensive logging program has been completed, including the acquisition of pressure data and gas samples.

Significantly, the well has de-risked a number of adjacent Cretaceous prospects, which could form part of a future Mzia hub. These prospects are expected to be tested in a future appraisal program to be defined following incorporation of data from this new well and 3D seismic.

The new resources proven by Mzia and the potential of adjacent prospects are currently under evaluation. Prior to drilling Mzia-1, BG Group had estimated mean total gross recoverable resources approaching 7 trillion cubic feet of gas from the four previous discoveries drilled in Tanzania.

Mzia-1 is approximately 45 kilometers offshore southern Tanzania in a water depth of 1 639 meters It is some 23 kilometers from the Jodari-1 discovery and is part of the 2012 three-to-four well exploration program.

Following the imminent completion of operations at Mzia, the Deepsea Metro-1 will relocate to Block 3 for the drilling of the next exploration prospect, Papa-1.

BG Group as operator has a 60% interest in Blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore Tanzania, with Ophir Energy plc holding 40%.

Imtech Marine’s Advanced Support Agreements, which include 24/7 remote Monitoring & Maintenance, are raising interest among ship owners.  Recently, Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL) signed a support contract for a second crane vessel. The Imtech Marine support agreement covers all of the systems onboard, including VSAT, computers, navigation and communication equipment.

Photo: Main mast of the Oleg Strashnov as seen from the helideck, with VSAT Dome .

The maritime transport and offshore construction services company has been a customer of Imtech Marine and Radio Holland for many years and in December 2011, SHL decided to place its crane vessel “Oleg Strashnov” under an Advanced Support Agreement. And just a few months later in April 2012, the company has decided to do the same for a second crane vessel, the “Stanislav Yudin”.

Peter Dekkers, Technical Superintendent at SHL, says: “After experiencing the benefits of Imtech Marine’s Advanced Support Agreements for several months on the Oleg Strashnov, we didn’t hesitate to place the Stanislav Yudin under the same arrangement.”

Remote maintenance

Frank Berends, Radio Holland Manager Technical Helpdesk, comments: “We are very happy that SHL has been completely satisfied with our support service and has chosen this for another vessel. We understand that it is vital that these very complex vessels should have the least downtime possible.”

“It is crucial for us to be able to do things remotely,” Mr Dekkers points out. He gives the example that Oleg Strashnov has recently been working in the Indian Ocean and it can take six weeks to get a permit for a service engineer to get onboard if there is a problem. “When the vessel went offshore, the crew discovered there were certain issues with the telephone system but Imtech Marine was able to carry out a remote repair, ensuring that we had the telephone lines in all of the right positions on the ship and that all the connections were there for ingoing and outgoing calls. But imagine if this had happened and we had to wait for an engineer to get a permit!

It is very important that we avoid any vessel downtime – even for a few hours. Imtech Marine helps ensure that our vessels are available, doing their job 24/7 for our customers.”

24/7 global support

Imtech Marine has three dedicated Global Technical Assistance Centres in Rotterdam, Houston and Singapore, enabling it to give clients round the clock support. “By monitoring the systems 24 hours a day we can see if there is trouble with the Internet for instance, and restore connections before the crew even notices,” emphasises Mr Berends. “Basically no one can beat our response times. We are able to tackle the issues in real time, while the vessel is sailing.”

Preventive maintenance

In another example, Imtech Marine can spot any rises in equipment temperatures. “When a working temperature is between 40-50 degrees Celsius, we can take action if we see it getting higher, thus preventing any problems before the equipment starts to fail. By monitoring, we can carry out preventive maintenance and avert mass failure of equipment or we can advise the crew to take action if we cannot repair it remotely. Then Imtech Marine can get the right spare parts and an engineer ready for the next port of call.”

Unrivalled response times

Jack-Up Barge is another company that has seen the benefits of such an Advanced Support Agreement. In a three-year agreement, signed in January, this contract also includes system management. “These barges are often working on offshore wind farms for many months so it is crucial that any problems can be sorted out remotely. But we also manage the company’s systems. For instance when there are crew changes and a new crew is boarding everything is set up ready for them, emails etc. so they don’t have to worry about changing all of the systems themselves.”

Mr Berends adds: “We know that it is vital for any downtime to be avoided and ultimately, these agreements help ensure the availability of the vessel, in turn lowering the Total Cost of Ownership.”

A purpose-designed BOP handling system comprising twin air-operated monorail hoists, with a joint lifting capacity of 200 tons has been supplied by J D Neuhaus. These hoists are a special compact design which has been developed to suit on-site operational requirements and each hoist represents a 45% reduction in the horizontal profile length compared to the JDN standard EH-100 product.

These compact hoists run in parallel on two overhead beams in excess of 22 meters in length. Both hoists incorporate two trolleys, each with a 50 ton load rating, providing a total 100 ton lift capacity per hoist. Each hoist is also fitted with a copper-coated bottom block and clevis (providing increased spark protection), together with a galvanized chain box. The overhead support beams incorporate a rack and pinion drive for the trolleys, ensuring that even inclines up to 2.5° can be negotiated. The total traverse distance is in excess of 18 meters, while the lift height available is 15.25 meters.

A single Neuhaus LN trolley with a 50 ton load capacity has also been incorporated which is used to provide a BOP fixture device during maintenance works.

Both hoists incorporate overload protection, with limit switches also provided for the hoist and traverse operations. The hoist motors are also fitted with an additional ‘emergency’ manual brake release handle located on the motor cover. Hoist operation and traverse movements are achieved with a pendant controller having an 8 meter attachment hose and incorporating an additional interface for an extra local control box. A central control box with 23 meters of control line ensures that both hoists can be controlled from one location. The hoists are operated from a 6 bar air supply, with 2 main air supply chain systems provided to accommodate both the 22 meter support beam travel lengths plus the 18 meter hoist movements.

Air service units comprising filter, regulator and oiler are hoist mounted, and the equipment has full JDN offshore kit and 4-coat epoxy paint finish, together with full testing and certification for Ex-classification: Ex II 2 GD IIB T4.

In April, Cargotec secured new contracts to deliver MacGregor anchor-handling, mooringand towing solutions for 15 offshore support vessels (OSV) of various types being built in China for Asian customers. The ships are being built in several shipyards in China for delivery throughout 2013 and 2014 to Coastal Offshore, Nam Cheong, Ezion Holding and Middle East interests.

Caption: "100m 300men accommodation / work barge"

Cargotec is supplying anchor-handling/towing solutions for two 59m anchor-handling tug/supply vessels, a 56.2m anchor-handling tug, and five 50m towing/utility vessels. Positioning mooring solutions are destined for two 100m/300-person accommodation/work barges, two 85m subsea maintenance/work support vessels, a 60m diving support vessel and two 105m subsea operation vessels.

"Most of the system components are established designs, and we have combined them to meet the needs of a particular ship type," says Francis Wong, Cargotec's sales director for offshore winch solution. "This ensures that each solution is well integrated and helps a ship type fulfill its specific functions. It also enhances a vessel's efficiency, safety and eco-friendly credentials throughout its entire lifecycle.

"We clearly see OSV demand coming back strongly in Asia, the Middle East, West Africa and South America at the beginning of 2012, and the market outlook is even promising," Mr Wong says.  "With Cargotec's strong global sales and service networks and leading technologies, we are prepared for the growth of the offshore market."

Ergodyne announces the addition of Arsenal® Water Resistant Duffel Bags to the Arsenal® Gear Storage line. From fabric and zippers to buckles and straps, the new Water Resistant Duffel is made of the toughest materials to withstand the harshest of conditions. 

“Our new Arsenal® Water Resistant Duffel Bags provide a smart solution for workers battling cold, wet and slippery conditions on the jobsite,” said Tom Votel, president and CEO of Ergodyne. “Toss your old damp bags for these element-tested, weather-resistant warriors.”

The Water Resistant Duffel Bags are made with a water- and cold-resistant tarpaulin fabric that protects from rain, snow, marine splash and so much more. Available in three sizes, the duffels offer a reinforced bottom with durable stitching – ensuring a safe and dry transport for your own precious cargo. Additionally, a document flap, ID holder, shoulder straps and side drag straps offer storage and transport versatility. The Arsenal® Water Resistant product video demonstrates these features and more.

“Outdoor workers are exposed to the elements day in and day out,” said Nate Bohmbach, product manager, Ergodyne. “Our Water Resistant Duffels provide a durable storage solution that keeps gear dry and accessible, even in the coldest and wettest job applications.”