^ Next you'll be saying that Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy don't exist! Heaven forbid!
What an amazing commute.
What a huge transition - out of Isaan and onto that in a couple of days. You've got balls.
It took me two years to stop shaking when I left Isaan.
^ No balls involved... I miss my daughter terribly after a just a few days away from home... and what makes it worse is I have no idea when I'll be able to return to Isaan with the Covid restrictions. I certainly wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be and the first few days at work after so long back in Isaan are horrible, especially on a new boat... new people etc...
But let's not get maudlin!
I guess you could argue that even though I'm at work my commute continues to the work site...
This afternoon we're passing the top of Norway into the Barents Sea.
There's a lounge above the bridge (the Sky Lounge!) where I spent some time this afternoon... great views. I'm on 6 - 6 nights but was awake by midday and have time to pass..
Then I spent an hour fast walking around the helideck. New onboarders aren't allowed to use the gym for the first week in vase of Covid but a helideck walk is nice... good exercise and some solitude... can have a good think about things.
I had a medical in Bangkok just a few days before coming back to work, and the Bumrungrad scales seemed to think I'm 114kg... fully clothed with full pockets mind. I've decided I'm gonna sort that out while I'm here... it's good to have a goal and not just be all about work. I'm hoping to be 10kg lighter when I get off this boat maybe in 6 weeks or so...
The view back to Norway...
And on to the work site...
No more tests that I'm aware of... but there's another crew change at Tromso on Wednesday which seems very odd in times of Covid - I would have thought they'd restrict personnel changes as much as possible. I hope any Brits coming aboard get tested!
Our destination is in the Barents Sea... first some inspection work on an existing field's pipelines (Snohvit) but later on a big seabed mapping project for future infrastructure at a new field, further north. It could take around six weeks just to acquire the data... it's a big development (Wisting).
Ask Nev, she'll know if there's any tests coming up.
Nice one Mendip, all that fresh air and exercise.
Treat it as a health camp, you'll easy shed 10kilos in 6 weeks.
^good advice.
6 weeks, get running everyday after you get up (and after a coffee). Without beer you'll sweat that flab off no bother.
Fancy a 6 week 21km (half-marathon) challenge? Can set a time to aim for after a week, then in 6 weeks try to beat it.
^ I don't much like the word 'flab', but have to admit it's probably true.
One thing that this lockdown has shown me is that I need to make a few lifestyle changes before I can ever think of retiring... my bad habits got worse with such a long time spent at home. Regular work trips have always kept things under control before this year.
So, health farm it is. I don't think my knees are up to a half marathon, but certainly a few weeks of healthy eating and good excercise will do me the world of good.
And no temptations... no beer!!!
Took a couple of quick pics on the way to my midnight meal tonight... a half decent photographer could probably have made something of it.
To be honest I don't like these light nights, I prefer it to get dark... that's the proper way of things.
Great thread mate.
Although you are obviously missing your baby girl it must be a relief to return to normality and as the main family provider.
Be safe and keep these great pictures coming!
^^^^ Looks like a scene from Interstellar.
Presumably using one or more of these:
If so, how does the ROV determine it's actual position when inspecting the pipeline? Is it linked back to the ships GPS position?
What types of "damage' do you find? How far away from the ship can it go?
Presuming the mother ship moves along the pipeline, does the ROV "pilot" control the ships movements?
A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.
^ My commute has finished now and this thread should really end... especially if I start getting technical questions!
But anyway, have a bit of spare time tonight I guess...
Yes, we use ROVs to carry out the work. WE have a dedicated survey ROV and a Works ROV on this vessel, depending on the task in hand.
The ship is positioned by GPS and the ROV is positioned by hydroacoustic positioning - a system called HiPAP in this case. This comprises a transducer sticking out of the hull of the vessel which sends out a myriad of sound pulses in separate beams through the water column. These interrogate a transponder on the ROV. The ROV distance from the transducer is determined by the two-way travel time of a sound pulse from ship to ROV and back again, ie from propagation to return. We have already established a very accurate speed of sound through the water column, so that's easy. The angle of the ROV from the HiPAP transducer is established by the relative time each sound pulse takes to return. So with distance and angle, we can position the ROV to within less than a metre accuracy in several hundred metres of water. I hope that makes sense... we regularly measure the conductivity, temperature and salinity of the entire water column to establish a very accurate speed of sound as this can vary a lot. Positioning accuracy reduces in poor weather due to excessive HiPAP transducer movement, and in sever weather cavitation under the hull can wipe out the signal.
In open water the ship will follow the ROV position, but close to platforms the vessel positioning system takes over in case of a run-off. So I guess yes, the ROV pilot does control the ship's movements in that case (but let's not give them too much credit)... but the bridge has ultimate control for safety.
Damage on pipelines... mainly caused by boulders being dragged by trawling activity, although occasionally a vessel will drop a container etc, or maybe drag an anchor. It is generally very rare to find physical damage on a pipeline. We are also checking for freespans (loss of support by scouring under the pipeline) which can lead to vibration and fatigue, cathodic protection against corrosion, and maybe excessive lateral movement caused by a hot product.
Anyway, as luck would have it while I was having my helideck walk this afternoon the survey ROV was recovered. This is way more advanced than that old thing in your picture above... and is probably amongst the most advanced survey ROVs anywhere. Survey speeds of 2 m/s (4 Kts) no problem, with maintaining stability.
There... what a beast. This is a unique vehicle and as I said, amongst the most advanced civilian survey ROV anywhere, if not the most advanced...
But forget all that nonsense... the best thing that happened during my walk today was this...
And a close-up.... I was reliably informed by the skipper that this was a fin whale, the second largest species on the planet (after the blue whale)!
^nice vehicle. Thanks for the pics & stories, mendip. Hope you're adjusting well on board.
Question: are there women in your rig, or is it a pure sausage fest? I know that the maritime industry is still male-dominated. How about oil rigs?
Btw, a job on a ship or oil rig isn't something I want to do, as I prefer being on land. Just curious about how things are in an oil rig... Thanks!
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