Maritime Press Clippings 2012 - Hydrex Underwater Technology

DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2012 – 209section of the hull. The side shell toggles arrested the "breathing" of shell plating (moving in and out with oncomingseas) and stopped damage spreading into other compartments. Next, steel plates were installed over longitudinal splitsin the side shell and bolted into position. The steel plate and bolting arrangement stiffened damaged side shellsections to resist the working of interior framing. All emergency salvage repairs were in place and ISI was able toevacuate crews before onslaught of the storm.Underwater efforts by ISI salvage divers using underwater burning, underwater welding, and patch installation washeavily backed up and supported by a topside crew of welding and fabrication personnel. These topside personnelinsured that prefabbed components requested by the divers would be ready to hit the water as needed. With thepassing of the storm, the salvage crews returned and found that the emergency response salvage repairs were intactand had effectively prevented the spread of hull damage. ISI conducted thorough pipeline and side scan surveys of thearea surrounding the casualty. The surveys revealed live pipelines passed under the barge leading to surroundingwellheads. Extensive surveys of surrounding pipelines greatly limited the ability of anchoring or spud type mooringsystems and restricted the use of ISI's heavy lift salvage barges. ISI opted to mobilize a 175 series lift boat with a 115ton crane to the site to use as a work platform.ISI's on-site Salvage Master, Mr. Peter Drummond, working closely with ISI Project Management andArgonautics Marine Engineering, developed a modified plan involving the removal of 170 tons of drill equipmentand drill floor structure along with the discharge of 375 tons of liquid ballast and cargo. A specialty team ofshipbreakers was mobilized to assist divers and crew in removal of topside structure. Airlifting removal of residual mudbuild-up in the hull was restricted to damaged area. The remaining mud would provide ballast without thecomplications associated with free surface water. All participants were aware of the limited window of opportunity andthe consequences if a storm caught the barge partially afloat in the narrow confines of the pipeline and wellhead field.All structure removal work was complete and permission was received to proceed with the modified refloat plan.Within 18 hours of getting the notice to proceed, the vessel was refloated, moved away from wellhead, stabilized, andwas ready to begin its journey to the shipyard for repairs. Towing vessels and crews, familiar with the area, skillfullymaneuvered the rig's hull through the very confined and shallow field. The towing company's captains kept in constantradio contact with the salvage master, providing updates to the salvage crew on tow conditions. The cooperationbetween the towboats and the Salvage Master enabled the underway movement of ballast and pumping to reflect thestability adjustments as the tow progressed. ISI worked closely with the USCG / MSU Houma during the evolution andprovided real-time updates from beginning to end. Source : MarineLogThe ENDURANCE outbound from Rotterdam - Photo : Henk van der Heijden ©China Merchants to bid for CMA CGM'sTerminal Link port operations stakeCHINA Merchants Holdings International (CMHI), a Hong Kong-listed China's conglomerate specialising in portoperations, transport and logistics, will be one of a handful Asian buyers for the Marseille-based CMA CGM's TerminalLink shares. The carrier has been keen to sell assets to raise funds for the repayment of its heavy debt of US$5 billion,reports London's Containerisation International, adding that one of latest plans is to sell up to 49 per cent of itsDistribution : daily to 22500+ active addresses 27-07-2012 Page 3