MOSHIP, image via Rolls Royce

MOSHIP is a dedicated submarine rescue mother ship designed to perform subsea and surface search and rescue missions in various sea conditions.  This vessel is capable of detecting distressed submarines, providing life support including ventilation and pod posting, evacuating her crew up to 600 meters of depth and transferring them under pressure up to 5 Bar.

Operational Capabilities Include:

• Search and rescue up to and including sea state 6
• Sea bottom imaging, high acoustic capabilities
• Towed Side Scan Sonar (TSSS) operations
• Detecting the distressed submarine
• Position keeping at 4 knots current and sea state 4 with Class II Dynamic Positioning System
• Providing life support to the crew including ELSS pod posting
• External ventilation (up to 600 m. depth)
• Dissub personnel rescue (up to 600 m. depth)
• Transferring under pressure
• Treating diving diseases with post modern decompression/ recompression pressure chambers and extensive hospital facilities
• Twin interconnected, L-type SRV connectible pressure chambers for 32 rescuees
• Acting as a medevac station with her heli-deck, capable of operating around the clock, up to sea state 4
• A clear aft deck area of 650 m2
• Operating with certified US SRDRS system with built-in A-frame of US SRDRS SRV and hydraulic/ telescopic crane of 35 tons capacity
• Operating with certified NATO NSRS system
• Atmospheric Diving Suit (ADS) operations
• Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) operations
• Personnel Transfer Capsule (PTC) operations
• Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations
• Acting as a medevac station with her heli-deck, capable of operating around the clock, up to sea state 4
• A clear aft deck area of 650 m2
• Operating with certified US SRDRS system with built-in A-frame of US SRDRS SRV and hydraulic/ telescopic crane of 35 tons capacity
• Operating with certified NATO NSRS system
• Atmospheric Diving Suit (ADS) operations
• Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) operations

The following is an animation from Istanbul Shipyard depicting the MOSHIP.  (We recommend you mute your volume, or feel free to crank it up if you enjoy rocking out to Kylie Minogue)

This is the first order for thrusters that Rolls-Royce has received from the Turkish Navy, which is planning a significant ship building programme in the coming years.

Sam Cameron, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President – Naval Sales and Business Development said:

“The Turkish Navy is an important customer, with whom we have a strong relationship. Our technology is particularly well suited to naval applications and we look forward to developing the relationship with both the Istanbul Shipyard and the Turkish Navy in the future.”

Rolls-Royce supplies seventy navies around the world and has previously supplied controllable pitch propellers and sonar handling systems to the Turkish Navy.

Azipull thrusters rotate through 360 degrees and can propel the ship in any direction offering high manoeuvrability, without the need for a rudder. This technology enables vessels to hold their position more effectively, which is especially important for vessels carrying out search and rescue missions.

Want to know more? Check out our interview with Jay McFadyen, President of Rolls-Royce Naval Marine.

The idea of it was actually conjured up on a busy dock in Hoboken, New Jersey by a 24 year old truck driver, Malcolm McLean from Fayetteville, North Carolina.  Here’s the story of one of the most significant inventions of the modern world.

Click here to view the embedded video.

One might look at these numbers and say, “well, they’re both huge global brands with hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide.  Getting a huge followership on Facebook should be a simple task.”

Not true at all.  In fact Shell only has 1,000 followers in the Netherlands, which is home to 10,000 Shell employees.

Using social media outlets like Facebook to your advantage takes a lot of effort and investment.  People don’t just “Like” you on Facebook because of your name.  They like you because you’ve figured out a way to engage with them, or allowed engagement, in a way that is personally meaningful.

The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Rooney recently interviewed Herbert Heitmann, EVP for External Communications at Royal Dutch Shell.  Here’s some insight into why Shell decided to make the leap into social media, and what they found in the process.

MIAMI – The Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket keeps pace with Miami's newest cutter, the Bernard C. Webber, during its arrival at Coast Guard Sector Miami Feb. 9, 2012. The Webber is named after Coast Guard hero Bernard C. Webber, who is credited for his assistance during the rescue of 33 of the tanker vessel Pendleton's 34 crewmembers. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Johnson.

The rain yesterday beaded up perfectly on every square inch of the US Coast Guard’s latest Sentinel-class cutter, the USCGC Bernard C. Webber.  Commissioned last month in Miami, this shiny new ship was built by Bollinger and based on the Damen Stan 4708 design patrol boat.  This new class of US Coast Guard patrol boats will eventually replace the aging Island-class 110-foot cutters which have seen heavy use in US coastal areas since the mid-1980s.  18 have been ordered so far.

The 154-foot Webber will deploy independently to conduct missions such as ports, waterways, and coastal security, fishery patrols, drug and illegal migrant law enforcement, search and rescue, and national defense operations along the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean.

Rear Admiral Karl Schultz, Director of Governmental and Public Affairs was on board the Webber yesterday, he comments:

The small boat on this vessel is exponentially more capable than what is found on the Island-class patrol boats.  The stern-launching system is really a game-changer as it allows faster, and safer operations in higher sea states than before.  It’s also a much more stable platform as it displaces nearly 100 tons more than the Island-class patrol cutter.

I think you’ll see us running these vessels maybe 5 plus days at a stretch before returning to port.  She is scheduled for 2500 operational hours per year.  The 110′s are running at around 2000 to 2200 depending on the country and operations.

The following images were taken on board the Bernard C. Webber yesterday, (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain.

The following is a video of the small boat being recovered on board the Bernard C. Webber. Boat recovery operations on the Island-class cutters are usually all-hands evolutions. In this case, it’s a very simple, and safe evolution with minimal crew involvement.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We talked with Titan Salvage today to check the validity of this plan, and they told us this video reflects an older concept on how they might remove the Costa Concordia.  How they ACTUALLY plan to do it is confidential at this point.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The following is the April 2012 tanker market update from Teekay’s Market Analyst Christian Waldegrave on the bridge on the Nassau Spirit.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click for Larger Image, (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Following a few busy days at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston last week, Helix Energy Solutions group invited me on a tour of the Helix Producer I, the first ship-shaped production vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

Image (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain, click for larger

Approaching via helicopter, the Helix Producer I stands out as a rather unusual looking vessel.  Originally designed as an ice-class train ferry servicing routes between Germany and Denmark, she had about 40 feet of beam added to her at Viktor Lenac Shipyard in Croatia, upgraded with seven 12MW electric thrusters, dual 4,000-pound hydraulic thrusters, and a topsides production unit was installed at Corpus Christi’s Kiewit Shipyard between 2006 and 2009.  Her bow and pilothouse are the only features that reflect her original design.

After landing on the helipad we soon met up with the Offshore Installation Manager, Dean McFarlin at the Production Control Center.

“Is this really it?” I thought to myself.

Dean and I, along with Helix’s Director of Marketing, Cameron Wallace, were in an office with a bunch of flat panel TV screens and the production watchstander.

The production control room on board Helix' Producer I FPU, image: gCaptain

It seemed like a pretty straightforward operation.  Oil, gas, and water come in, the produced fluids get processed, then sent right back off the rig and on toward shore.  Certainly a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the deepwater drilling rigs I had worked on a few years back.

“We’re currently producing from 5 wells at about 50 percent of vessel capacity” Dane mentioned.

The Helix Producer I can produce 30,000 bbl/day of oil, 70 million cubic feet of gas, and 50,000 bbl/day of water.

“Very salty water,” he added.  This water was left over from ancient seas that came and went long ago and helped create the perfect conditions for vast oil fields.

Winding down and around the stairwells inside the accommodations area, we made our way outside to the DTS, aka the Disconnectable Transfer System, which is the conduit from which all the produced hydrocarbons flow to and from.

Disconnectable Transfer System, click for larger image, (c) gCaptain

It’s a fairly high tech system. Not only does it handle all the incoming production and export lines, but it is also integrated with the electro-hydraulic umbilicals that control the subsea architecture a few thousand feet below on the sea floor.

The crazy part is that all these lines are built into a swivel system that allows the ship to spin around the buoy via its dynamic positioning system without leaking or damaging any of the pressurized piping or umbilical systems.

Production line swivel within the DTS, click for larger (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Dean McFarlin points to one of the hydraulic lines leading into the umbilical swivel within the DTS, click for larger, (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Pointing at the swivel, Dean comments, “There’s probably only 2 or 3 people who actually know how this swivel really works. It’s a closely guarded Helix secret.”

This buoy is designed with a quick release system that allows it to be disengaged from the Producer in case of a storm. The following video shows it being released while dodging Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Retrieval buoy, click for larger image, (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

After the storm, the buoy was then retrieved in a rather ingenious fashion. The Producer sent out a sonar ping, of sorts, which triggered the release of a small buoy with a line affixed to it. Tied to that line was a much bigger line which was then used to winch the huge production buoy back into position.

We left the DTS and Dean led us through the aft production facility where he explained all the different systems used to separate the gas, crude oil, and water. The crude oil and gas are routed back to shore, however the thousands of barrels of water produced every day are treated and discharged over the side via a high tech oil/water separator.

MARPOL Annex 1 regulates the discharge oil overboard in liters per mile, however due to the fact this ship doesn’t actually go anywhere, it’s oily water separator is extraordinarilly good. So good in fact, Helix’ OIM notes there is no discernable trace of oil in the discharged water.

An abstract view of the production system on board the Helix Producer I FPU, (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Image (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain, click for larger

Image (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain, click for larger

Leaving the Production deck, we headed back toward the bow and up to the wheelhouse where we met up with the on-watch Dynamic Positioning Officer, Clarisse Osegueda.   A 2008 graduate of Cal Maritime Academy, she is tasked with ensuring the Producer I stays on station no matter what the weather and current bring.

Clarisse Osegueda, Dynamic Positioning Officer on board the Helix Producer I, image (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Image (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Facing aft, the DPO chair faces the production facility and a myriad of displays, and a small iPod station sits on the window sill breaking up the silence found throughout the bridge.

“Inbound helicopter 23 minutes out.”

(c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

Helix Producer I FPU, image (c) Robert Almeida/gCaptain

The announcement over the PA system was our signal that the visit was nearly over and soon after, we were making a loop around the ship in the S-76 and headed back to Houma.

Here’s an un-narrated 3-D view of what an FPSO-developed field looks like, and how it produces hydrocarbons.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vision and driving ambition of SBM Offshore:

“To be the trusted partner of choice in the development of complete offshore floating solutions for the world’s energy companies – which is underpinned by three core values: Team-Energy (Work as One), Success (Perform) and Ambition (Shape our Future).”

FPSO Espirito Santo, image: SBM Offshore

In SBM’s annual report, they state:

The demand for FPSOs will remain strong over the next five years, with continued strong growth forecast in deepwater worldwide and particularly in Brazil and West Africa.  The disappointing financial performance over last few years of FPSO projects worldwide is an indication that rewards are structurally not aligned with obligations and liabilities of FPSO contractors.

The on-going effects of the debt crisis will impose more stringent bank regulations, with implementation of Basel 3 principles, which will make it more difficult to secure long-term debt through the project financing markets. In order to finance continuing growth in the lease fleet the Company is diversifying its sources of long-term debt by widening its core banking group, by signing a long-term corporation agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation to develop FPSO projects in partnership, and by preparing to access debt markets directly.

Video message by IMO Secretary General Mr. Koji Sekimizu on the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, recalling the improvements to passenger ship safety introduced as a result of that tragic night a century ago.

We have no idea what the circumstances were at the time of this attack, or which ship this video was taken from, but it clearly shows a vessel security team using overwhelming firepower to successfully defend their ship from an attempted pirate attack.

Hopefully this video finds its way into Somalia…