Every time this monster comes into the harbor I am so intrigued by it. It calls to me. I drive from my home and can see it's tall towers over the hill tops. It only comes home in the winter. It steals in quietly and sometimes leaves quietly. It is a city all to it's own. I am at a far distance in taking these pictures. One time it was docked very close to shore. There was a giant catepillar backhoe to the side of this monster and the catepillar backhoe looked like a small children's toy. (My uncle was with me and can back me up on how huge this thing is) I am not sure what pulls me to it. But every time it comes into the harbor I have to go gaze at it. It is called the Saipan 7000.
This is a close up photo taken by KEITH WOOD (www.keithwoodphotography.com) of the chains on the Saipan 7000. When you look at the men compared with the chains you really get an idea of the hugeness of it all.
I had to recruit my Honey Bun( since he is the oil man in the family) to put all the details together for me about this monster.
The Saipan is called a Heavy Lift Vessel(HLV). It is one of the 2 or 3 largest barge cranes in the World. The HLV is used to lift massive offshore oil and gas platforms and install them in the North Sea. These platforms weigh 10's of thousands of tons and need to be precisely set on top of jackets (or pilings) that have been driven into sea floor. These jackets provide a strong base for the platform to rest on so that the platform can withstand very harsh weather conditions in the North Sea. An oil company has used these heavy lift vessels many times for it projects through the world. In fact, for the last five years my Honey Bun has been working on major projects that will involve installing several mega sized platforms over the next 5 to 10 years.
This is a picture of a platform that I got off the internet.
These platforms will contain new oil wells, processing facilities (like mini refineries), and even hotels that can accomodate over 500 people in single hotel rooms. Talk about a 5 Star hotel- after a 2 hour helicopter ride out from the shore of Norway you can be staying in a luxurious suite! You just have to wear a astronaut- looking offshore survival suit while you travel in case your helicopter crashes into the North Sea. Without a survival suit, you would die of hypothermia in only a few minutes!
(The people who are going to be going offshore have to go through an extensive training before they can fly out to the platforms.)
The platforms are installed in up to several hundred feet of water. The Heavy Lift Vessels require pretty calms seas to work effectively, so typically the Saipan 7000 works in the Norther Hemisphere in the summer time and goes to the Southern Hemisphere in the Winter time (when it is summer down there.) This vessel moves at a snail pace so it can take several weeks to move these HLV's. The Sapian 7000 is truly a remarkable vessel and an engineering design feat.
I just want to get onto this thing just to check it out. I wondered if they offer rooms for the night. Maybe I could talk our oil company into having their Christmas party on this thing. Probably not. I am just going to have to gaze at it form a distance!!
You can tell by the writing that he is the professional in our family!! Thanks Honey Bun!! He is my biggest fan when it comes to my blog!!
The Saipan is called a Heavy Lift Vessel(HLV). It is one of the 2 or 3 largest barge cranes in the World. The HLV is used to lift massive offshore oil and gas platforms and install them in the North Sea. These platforms weigh 10's of thousands of tons and need to be precisely set on top of jackets (or pilings) that have been driven into sea floor. These jackets provide a strong base for the platform to rest on so that the platform can withstand very harsh weather conditions in the North Sea. An oil company has used these heavy lift vessels many times for it projects through the world. In fact, for the last five years my Honey Bun has been working on major projects that will involve installing several mega sized platforms over the next 5 to 10 years.
This is a picture of a platform that I got off the internet.These platforms will contain new oil wells, processing facilities (like mini refineries), and even hotels that can accomodate over 500 people in single hotel rooms. Talk about a 5 Star hotel- after a 2 hour helicopter ride out from the shore of Norway you can be staying in a luxurious suite! You just have to wear a astronaut- looking offshore survival suit while you travel in case your helicopter crashes into the North Sea. Without a survival suit, you would die of hypothermia in only a few minutes!
(The people who are going to be going offshore have to go through an extensive training before they can fly out to the platforms.)The platforms are installed in up to several hundred feet of water. The Heavy Lift Vessels require pretty calms seas to work effectively, so typically the Saipan 7000 works in the Norther Hemisphere in the summer time and goes to the Southern Hemisphere in the Winter time (when it is summer down there.) This vessel moves at a snail pace so it can take several weeks to move these HLV's. The Sapian 7000 is truly a remarkable vessel and an engineering design feat.
I just want to get onto this thing just to check it out. I wondered if they offer rooms for the night. Maybe I could talk our oil company into having their Christmas party on this thing. Probably not. I am just going to have to gaze at it form a distance!!You can tell by the writing that he is the professional in our family!! Thanks Honey Bun!! He is my biggest fan when it comes to my blog!!
2 comments:
Wow! I fell behind reading your blog, only to find so many cool things on there now.
This thing is so cool. Everytime Jason and I drive by it, we like to imagine strange things it looks like it could do.
Thanks!
Electromagnets are used on platform hire
to pick up and drop heavy loads, as well as in industrial conveyor systems to pull metal parts out of various materials. Truck mounted magnets are also used to clean up construction sites and prevent nails in vehicle tires.
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