GL to Provide DP Services to Hornbeck Offshore (USA)

USA’s Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) has selected GL Noble Denton to undertake dynamic positioning (DP) assurance services across the company’s technologically advanced fleet of vessels.

GL Noble Denton’s team of DP engineers will support HOS to further develop internal dynamic positioning operating standards across 55 DP-capable offshore service vessels and a fleet of new-build platform services vessels that HOS has announced will be delivered in the second quarter of 2013.

Dynamic Positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system that automatically maintains a vessel’s position and heading. GL Noble Denton offers DP testing and assurance services to operators across the global offshore industry ensuring the safety, upkeep and proper function of this state-of-the-art technology and the application of the procedures necessary to support safe DP operations.

In addition to developing a robust set of DP operating standards in conjunction with HOS, GL Noble Denton’s Houston-based marine warranty engineers and assurance team will deliver a major package of failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA), proving trials, annual DP trials, and capability analyses to the Hornbeck fleet.

Carl Annessa, Hornbeck Offshore Services’ Chief Operating Officer, said: “Hornbeck Offshore Services has a clear vision to remain at the forefront of the dynamic positioning quality assurance sector. GL Noble Denton is widely regarded as a thought leader in this sector, and we are pleased to partner with them to maintain our position as the premier operator of DP-equipped offshore petroleum support and service vessels.”

Craig Reid, GL Noble Denton’s Dynamic Positioning Services Manager for the Americas, added: “Hornbeck Offshore Services has taken a proactive approach to ensuring its fleet sets the benchmark for operational best practice in dynamic positioning. We are delighted that GL Noble Denton has been selected to help them achieve this.

“By sharing our expertise in this rapidly-developing sector, we will help to ensure that the DP systems onboard the company’s fleet of vessels adhere to industry-leading standards in safety, integrity and performance.”

GL to Provide DP Services to Hornbeck Offshore (USA)| Offshore Energy Today.

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UK: Nautronix to Supply Acoustic Positioning System for Noble’s New Drillship

Nautronix have secured another order for the supply of their NASDrill RS925 deepwater acoustic positioning system for Noble Corporation’s fourth new ultra-deepwater drillship. In 2011, Nautronix was awarded the contracts for supplying their NASDrill RS925 system for Noble’s first three new drill ships.

All new vessels will be constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan, Korea and will be based on a Hyundai Gusto P10000 design. The rigs will have DP-3 station keeping abilities and the capacity to handle two complete BOP systems allowing for operation in water depths of up to 12,000 feet.

Mark Patterson, Nautronix CEO, commented “This order further strengthens our relationship with Noble Corporation and I believe that it demonstrates their confidence in our NASDrill RS925 system”.

NASDrill RS925 has been designed specifically to meet the requirements for a reliable, stable DP and position reference system for demanding offshore operations, in particular deepwater drilling vessels.

The system combines the two most accurate deepwater acoustic positioning technologies – Short Baseline (SBL) and Long Baseline (LBL) – to calculate multiple independent position solutions providing reliable, repeatable input to the vessel DP system; with SBL mode providing accuracies of 0.15% slant range and LBL mode providing accuracies up to 1m RMS independent of water depth.

The NASDrill RS925 system is supplied with all external interfacing to the Dynamic Positioning System for automatic station keeping and can be used as part of an integrated acoustically-aided INS positioning solution.

The system is also fully upgradable to use NASeBOP and NASNet® (Nautronix unique underwater GPS).

As with all Nautronix leading commercial acoustic systems, NASDrill RS925 utilises Nautronix proprietary ADS² (Acoustic Digital Spread Spectrum) broadband signalling technology which has been proven, with over ten years of successful subsea operations, to provide superior accuracy, repeatability and reliability for dynamic positioning of vessels during deepwater drilling operations.

Source

Subsea Trenching Beast – A Look At The Helix T1200

Operated by Canyon Offshore, Helix ESG’s subsea robotics unit, the T1200 will be one of the largest and most powerful ROVs in the world. (Photo: Helix ESG)

By John Konrad On April 5, 2012

Need to cut a 30 foot deep trench in the bottom of the ocean floor to run flowlines out to a new production rig?

No problem.  Helix Energy Solutions’ new T1200 subsea trenching behemoth is just what you’re looking for.

Looking like a mix between a space ship and an Abrams battle tank, the T1200 is a massive piece of equipment weighing in at over 33 tons (30,000kg) and towering to a height of 12.6ft (3.8m).

While not yet in service, construction of the T1200 trenching and burial unit is one step closer to entering service following testing and installation of its two enormous caterpillar tracks.

The vehicle also got wet for the first time in the manufacturer’s test tank in central England. Still undergoing final fitting, the T1200 is expected to be delivered to Helix ESG this summer and will begin work on board another new asset to Helix ESG’s ROV Support Vessel fleet, the Grand Canyon.

The 1,125hp ROV will use high-powered water jets to cut up to 30 feet into the seafloor and lay power cables, or other tubular products like oil and gas pipelines.

The Grand Canyon is a new build offshore construction vessel that will host a new T1200 jet trencher, two 200HP XLX ROV systems onboard along with two more ROV systems. The Grand Canyon is 125m x 25m and has a 250t crane, monopool, dynamic positioning systems and helideck. Accommodations are for up to 108 personnel and will be deployed for work in Europe’s growing offshore wind farm projects where her ROVs will conduct power cable trenching and burial operations. (Image: Helix ESG)

Source

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U.A.E: Unique Maritime Group Introduces Light Weight Taut Wire MK 15 B

Unique Maritime Group, one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers, announced today the introduction of the Light Weight Taut Wire MK 15 B to their rental pool inventory.

The Light Weight Taut Wire Mk 15B is a position-reference system used extensively with Dynamic Positioning of vessels, which is designed to provide accurate data of a surface vessel’s movement with respect to the position of a depressor weight on the sea floor.

Harry Gandhi, CEO of Unique Maritime Group commented on the addition “We are happy to introduce this Cost-effective, Well-proven and reliable technology to our customers with an operational water depth up to 300 m”.

The Light Weight Taut Wire Mk 15B is a position reference system designed for use in deck-mounted port or starboard position on surface vessels. A wire is maintained at a constant tension by means of a depressor weight on the sea-bed and a pneumatic and electric servo-assisted “mooring” system. Any movement of the vessel will cause the tensioned wire to deviate from its initial inclination. This movement activates potentiometers mounted in the gimbal (sensor) head and produces changes of analogue signals directly proportional to the deviation in inclination, which is interfaced to the Dynamic Positioning of the vessel.

About Unique Maritime Group

Founded in 1993, Unique Maritime Group is one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers. Through its expanding network of companies, UMG is a specialist in the provision of services, and the sale and rental of equipment for the marine, diving, hydrographic, oceanographic, and NDT market sectors. The group has an established manufacturing capability for the delivery of customized engineering projects worldwide. UMG has local presence in USA, UK, South Africa, India, Middle East, Russia and Singapore and employs over 500 people worldwide.

Source

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USA: Eastern Shipbuilding Hands Over OSV HARVEY SUPPORTER

Eastern Shipbuilding Group has delivered the HARVEY SUPPORTER, the first of three (3) 292 ft. Tiger Shark Class Offshore Support Vessels for Harvey Gulf International Marine, LLC.

The HARVEY SUPPORTER is an STX Marine design featuring a DP II SOLAS-classed AC diesel-electric, twin Z-drive Offshore Support Vessel measuring 292’ X 64’ X 24’-6”. Power and propulsion systems, controls, automation, etc. are provided by the system integrator, Converteam, Inc. This high-tech vessel features four Cummins QSK60-DM 16-cylinder turbo-charged Tier II diesel generator engines that are rated 1825 Kw at 1,800 rpm. Main propulsion is provided by two Schottel SRP 2020 FP Z-drives with nozzles rated at 2,500 Kw at 1,025 rpm each for a total of 6,704 hp. Schottel also provided two STT 4 fixed pitch tunnel thrusters rated at 1,180 Kw at 1,170 rpm each with direct coupled electric motors. The vessel is capable of top speeds in access of 12 knots.

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Source

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Bully I Makes Debut in GOM

by  Noble Corp. & Shell

Shell and Noble Corp. announced the Gulf of Mexico arrival of the Noble Bully I, a state-of-the-art offshore drilling rig that is designed to raise the bar in terms of safety and performance. The Noble Bully I (UDW Drillship) is the first of two Bully rigs, jointly designed by Shell and Noble, and can be equipped to drill in up to 10,000-feet of water.

The Bully rigs also feature a compact box-type drilling tower, known as a Multi-purpose Tower, instead of a conventional derrick. As the name indicates, a Multi-purpose Tower is designed to maximize productivity and safety, yet it allows for a significantly smaller vessel when compared to other deep water drill ships of similar capacity.

The ships also feature an attention to energy efficiency, use less fuel and are shorter and lighter than comparable drill ships. The Noble Bully I and Noble Bully II (UDW drillship), are dynamically positioned drill ships and can, therefore, be positioned at a favorable angle toward wind, waves, and currents, and feature ice-class hulls. Shell and Noble have increased the automated technology on the Bully rigs, increasing personnel safety on board.

The Noble Bully I has now arrived in the Gulf of Mexico from Singapore and will complete commissioning and acceptance testing this month before beginning operations. The Noble Bully I will first drill in Shell’s Mars B, Olympus, development while the Noble Bully II drill ship is expected to begin operations early next year in Brazil.

Source – RIGZONE

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UAE: Drydocks World Wins Tanker-to-MVC Conversion Deal from AET

Drydocks World has signed a contract with Singapore based AET, for two Tanker-to-Modular Capture Vessel (MCV) conversion projects. AET is converting these vessels as part of the Marine Well Containment Company’s (MWCC) well containment system.

MWCC is a not-for-profit, stand-alone organization with 10 member companies ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, Apache Anadarko, BHP Billiton, Statoil and Hess. The conversion will be implemented at the Drydocks World – Dubai facility.

The conversion shall allow the tankers to continue to operate normally as tanker in the US Gulf of Mexico, with capability to be deployed as MCV within shortest possible time. The first vessel is expected to arrive at the yard in December 2011 and the second vessel in February 2012. Each project will be completed within a period of nine months. Each vessel will handle about 100,000 barrels of liquid and about 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The MCVs are capable of operating at depths of 10,000 feet.

The vessels will be equipped with new state-of-the-art containment system provided by Marine Well Containment Company. Conversion scope includes installation of 4 off power generators, 4 off retractable type azimuth thrusters one tunnel thruster, Dynamic Positioning, Pipe racks on deck and supports for Process Module, Flare tower, turret etc..

“We are extremely happy to sign this prestigious Contract with AET, a well-known global service provider, as part of our well-articulated strategy of building our presence in the oil, gas and energy industries. We already have an established reputation and strong expertise in carrying out sophisticated vessel conversion projects for world-leading companies. Our thrust on expanding our knowledge base and creating a technology-driven state-of-the-art facility has borne fruit and we are able to effectively serve the industry,” said Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Drydocks World.

Source

Ukraine: Zaliv Launches Ulstein Design PSV Hull

The hull for yno 294 at Ulstein Verft, a platform supply vessel of design type ULSTEIN PX121 for Blue Ship Invest, was launched by Zaliv shipyard in Ukraine on 30. November.

“This hull is hull number 500 from Zaliv, and this special occasion was celebrated with a great many invited persons”, comments project manager Per Svein Brekke from ULSTEIN. He was present along with the ship owner representative Odd Nordam and ULSTEIN´s site team in Ukraine, which consists of Magnar Kvamme, Anders Sundgot, Paul Myrvågnes, Igor Kogan, Yuriy Stoyev and Yuliya Sydorova.

Tow starts around mid-December, and is expected to arrive Ulstein Verft in January. The ship is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2012.

Source

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