Mighty Servant 1 with Lucius spar hull, image: Dockwise, click for larger

Today’s ship photo of the day comes from Netherlands-based heavy lift operator, Dockwise (a new subsidiary of Boskalis).  Their semi-submersible heavy lift vessel, the Mighty Servant, successfully offloaded the 23,000 ton Lucius spar last week for the Lucius deepwater oil and natural gas project located in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Lucius truss spar, measuring 184 meters (605 feet) long and 34 meters (110 feet) in diameter, was loaded onto the Mighty Servant 1 by means of skid on operation at Pori, Finland. The spar was transported 7,700 nautical miles and discharged at Ingleside, Texas and delivered back to Technip.

The Lucius Development is located in Keathley Canyon Block 875 in the Gulf of Mexico and is operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

Dockwise notes that spars are usually offloaded over the stern of a semisubmersible heavy transport vessel, yet in this case, restricted clearance space at Ingleside required an innovative offloading approach whereby the spar was unloaded over the side.  This necessitated the design and installation of new buoyancy tanks.

The length of the Lucius spar reached the Mighty Servant 1′s carrying capacity limit extending nearly 40 meters over the stern of the vessel.

Want to know more about Dockwise?  Read our recent interview with CEO André Goedée

This photo was taken from the sailing yacht “Crocodile”, a Beneteau First 40.7 while transiting offshore the coast of Long Island and New Jersey during a recent delivery from Newport, Rhode Island to Maryland.

The winds and weather embedded in this were “challenging” to say the least but the crew and boat came through fine with no drama,” according to a Facebook post by the yacht’s owner, LtCol Scott “Gus” Ward, USMC(Ret). More photos by Buddy Denham here.

Of note, Crocodile was previously named Downtime and I raced on her for a number of years out of Annapolis, Maryland, including the 2006 Newport-Bermuda Race.

Photo of the S/S Ayrfield by mezuni

On the south bank of the Parramatta River, 16 kilometers west of Sydney, is Homebush Bay. Established in the 1800s the area served various purposes until 1970 when the Australian government leased the bay to private companies looking for a spot to break-up old ships.

The S/S Ayrfield, a steel-hulled, single screw, steam collier of 1140 tonnes and 79.1m in length, arrived in Homebush in 1972. Built in the UK in 1911 she had carried many different kinds of cargo for 61 years, including American Troops during WWII, and was ready to be recycled. But she never was. Operations at the ship-breaking yard ceased and parts of several large vessels including the Ayrfield were left behind

Today the S/S Aryfield, at the age of 101, is carrying a more natural cargo… trees. According to ThisIsColossal, from 2008-2010 a concerted effort was made to remove many of the lingering chemicals in Homebush left from the industrial era. With the chemicals now gone a the forest grew up inside the SS Ayrfield and, today, the bay is now a popular place for photographers taking pictures of this historic ship.

Not entirely sure what went wrong here, or when/where this film was shot, but hopefully whoever took this video is ok.  

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Bryan Blair/Released)

(May 21, 2013) – Combined Task Force 521 conducts convoy escort operations with a large natural gas tanker during International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2013 (IMCMEX). IMCMEX 13 includes navies from more than 40 countries and will exercise a wide spectrum of defensive operations designed to protect international commerce and trade.

(May 19, 2013) – (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Bryan Blair/Released)

Lt. Bryan Wolfe, operations officer for CTF 521, speaks with the commanding officer of a large natural gas tanker, about plans for an upcoming mission during International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2013 (IMCMEX 13).

ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 14, 2013) An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator flies over the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman by Alan Radecki/Released)

While not many of us were noticing, the U.S. Navy was off the coast of Virginia on Tuesday, changing the game of naval aviation forever.  The X-47B is a demonstration platform that first flew on February 4th, 2011.  On Tuesday, the unmanned aircraft was successfully launched from the USS George W. Bush and landed at Patuxent River, Maryland after performing several aerial maneuvers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

X-47B Launch Photo Gallery:

Damage to the USS Porter after colliding with a supertanker in the Persian Gulf in August 2012. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Sunderman/Released)

On August 12, 2012, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Porter collided with a Mitsui OSK Lines’ supertanker M/T Otowasan near the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.  The collision tore a 3 by 3 meter (9.8 ft × 9.8 ft) hole in the starboard side of the destroyer, forcing it to Jebel Ali, Dubai for repairs. No one was injured however.

The ship’s captain, Cmdr. Martin Arriola, was subsequently relieved of command and replaced by Cmdr. Dave Richardson. On 12 October 2012, the Porter rejoined Carrier Strike Group Twelve for its transit through the Suez Canal following extensive repairs to the ship.

On Tuesday, Navy Times released the following USS Porter bridge recording of the conversation between Cmdr. Arriola and the OOD leading up to and during the collision….

gCaptain Forum Discussion: BRIDGE recording of PORTER (DDG78) collision

Audio background from Navy Times:

The pilothouse recording above begins immediately after Porter turned left to pass ahead of a ship going the opposite direction. The destroyer, with another warship following, had been headed southwest on course 230 at 20 knots.

The officer of the deck wanted to steer right to come back to this base course. This aggravated Porter’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Martin Arriola, who was focused on shipping traffic headed the opposite way and converging on the channel back through the Strait of Hormuz. Arriola and the OOD are the most prominent voices in the recording. Others relayed course and speed changes to the amphibious dock landing ship Gunston Hall, which was following Porter.

After clearing the vessel, the OOD spotted another ship — later determined to be a supertanker — behind it and realized Porter was in danger. Arriola decided to turn left, an unusual maneuver, to streak ahead of aship’s bow a second time. Read More…

Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Triple-E Class Ship, Photo by John Konrad

Erly this month gCaptain was invited to DSME, the world’s second largest shipyard, for a behind-the-scenes tour of the world’s largest ship, the mighty Maersk Triple-E.

Maersk has the option to buy 20 of these impressive 400-meter (1,312′), 18,000 TEU vessels, but the first, the M/V Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, has already been launched with delivery scheduled for June 28th, 2013.

Until the naming ceremony vessel, Maersk will not comment on those big black letters painted on the bow and stern but we think it’s safe to say that the ship is named for Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, son of the Danish shipping magnate Arnold Peter Møller and his Kentucky-born wife Chastine Mc-Kinney. Mærsk Møller became a partner of father’s company in 1940, but soon fled to New York to escape the Nazi occupation of Denmark. That same year he married Emma Marie Neergaard Rasmussen, namesake for the the M/V Emma Maersk, the first of the company’s E-Class of container vessels.

Among Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller’s many accomplishments include his long tenure on IBM’s board of directors, a knighthood and a long and productive life. In fact, right up to his passing last year at the age of 98, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller was often seen walking up the stairs to his office on the 6th floor of Maersk headquarters.

The name seems appropriate for this well built, larger than life, vessel.

UPDATE: Click To Read Part 2 – A Detailed Look At The World’s Biggest Ship

Triple-E Class Shipyard Photos

Video Gallery – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Timelapse Of Construction

Click here to view the embedded video.

Infographic

Maersk Infographic of Triple-E class vessel

Artist Rendition of M/V Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller

Artist rendition of Maersk Triple-E Class Vessel

Up NEXT > Part 2 – A Detailed Look At The World’s Biggest Ship

A statement from the owner of Jolly Nero, Genoa-based Messina Lines, said that company will not being commenting on the ongoing investigation, but firmly added that the vessel was accompanied by two tugs, had a pilot on board, and weather conditions were calm at the time of incident.

gCaptain’s coverage of the incident can be found HERE

Image courtesy Christopher Dale

Former shipmate Christopher Dale took this photo the other day while working at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in Okpo, Korea.

The crane barge in the photo is the Daewoo 3600. Built in 2006, it is the largest such floating crane barge in Korea with a lifting capacity of 3600 tons.