Another lockdown… another commute

[Stumpy]

Last nite of Q'n in the wine country. Porterhouse and a ribeye with 3 baked taters drizzled in olive oil. Thought Mendy would want to see some real food.....

[Saint Willy]

Oh I do not think KW joined you on the meat free side....

got that right!

Last nite of Q'n in the wine country. Porterhouse and a ribeye with 3 baked taters drizzled in olive oil. Thought Mendy would want to see some real food.....

Thats just cruel I like this game… but don’t forget you’re about to do two weeks Q… start a thread…

Ok, let's get a different perspective on the ship/boat thingy. We have a saying that is roughly: A ship can transport a boat but a boat can't transport a ship.
A boat is under 50m and a ship over. (Bugger off about questions regarding a vessel that is exactly 50m)

Also, because it's German and therefore as precise as possible; in military parlance a ship has two senior officers - a Commander and a First Officer as it travels longer distances/further. A boat only has a Commander.

Submarines are different and are called boats because the size is calculated on what is beneath the water (obviously not while diving)

Never argue logic with a German.



Ah, not so cocky now, ape-boy! You've joined me on the meat-free side. Your body will thank you

with a tin of tuna, cold meats or some of those nighttime steaks saved in his Mendy purse

[Norton]

Often, but not always a Captain. PT Boats (a boat with a crew) could be commanded by an Ensign.

PT boats, Swift boats yes, a commisioned officer. River Patrol boats a non commisioned officer.

Where you in the Navy?

Yes.

[Joe 90]

Nice one Norts, nearest I got to the navy was sea cadets.
Fair enough they taught me how to polish my boots to a mirror shine and iron my trouser a dozen different ways.
Long way up, long way down salute

[Mendip]

I’m waiting patiently for a picture of the gym.

Which means we will know when the hard work starts.

Is there a half decent rec room? Cinema? Table tennis? Darts? Music room, games room, Sun beds, Sauna/steam room?*

Wednesday night I can go to the gym... not long to wait now Dirk.

We have 3 day rooms... 2 non-smoking and 1 smoking. There's satellite TV and a media server... and guitars and keyboards for any that way inclined. This vessel has wifi throughout which is good but has killed the social side of things after shift. Most people retreat to their cabins at the end of shift and do what ever they do. I seem to spend most of my time updating this thread.

And yeah, every Norwegian boat has a sauna and sunbeds, although I think they'll be closed off due to Covid. I've just spent 7 months living in a sauna so it's of no interest to me.

Mendip believe me just stopping your alcohol intake does not automatically mean weight loss. I have been DRY for over 38 years now and I'm still a fat bastard.

To lose weight you have to make sure less calories go into your body than your body burns up, simple as that.

Does the motion of the sea make you/people sleep better or worse?

I'm glad if a few months dry Ootai more for the sake of my general health and liver, but it will also be good to vastly reduce my calorie intake. It seems that I can only dream about being a fat bastard since I seem to be the next level up at obese... but not for long.

I sleep well offshore... maybe it's the gentle rocking motion of the boat or maybe it's being away from the aggravations of married life? Unless we have a storm of course... then I sleep as badly as I do at home.

I'd bet the captain does have to eat the same food as prepared for the crew on most occasions.

Yes, the skipper eats exactly the same as everyone else, although he does also get sandwiches delivered up to the bridge. I've yet to see that happen to the geo office. The state of the food is all doen to the skipper... he's the boss out here and should have a word with the Chief Steward... but that's not the Norwegian way.

I bet Mendip sits at the Captains table with a room like that.

Do they have a captains table on your Vessel Mendip or is that just posh cruise liners/ships/boats/tubs?

I sit on one of the contractor's tables at meal times Joe... the Norwegian marine crew tend to sit at their own table and the Filipino crew members at their table. I don't think there's any segregation going on, but the Norwegians prefer to chat in Norwegian and the Filipinos in Tagalog (I think).

And it's not a 'room', it's a 'cabin'... we're on a boat and you have to get nautical.

Never a shortage of fruits on a boat

Ha! Very good.

A boat is under 50m and a ship over. (Bugger off about questions regarding a vessel that is exactly 50m)

At 95 metres I've accepted that I'm on a ship but I'm still gonna call it a boat... maybe as Cyrille suggests out of endearment.

Hey Mendy, Speaking of the food. On your off time can you fish? I'd be trying to hook me up some fresh fish then kick the chef a few bucks to cook it up for you and the big plus....you will not have to wade out and catch Snakehead fish and infect your toes.....

Many years ago if we saw a lot of cod along a pipeline from the ROV video cameras we would get out on the back deck and bounce lures along the pipeline, behind the ROV operations. That kind of stuff has long gone now with HSE and now, even in West Africa you're not allowed to fish for the tuna... although rules do get relaxed in different parts of the world and depending on the skipper and Offshore Manager.

Anyway, enough food talk... I'm happy now as my day shift opposite number has started plating up the evening meal for me to have at breakfast time. I've got microwaved pan-fried cod today.

And to steer this back to work... this is our survey ROV just about to be launched. This is the latest generation of ROV and can do 4 knts (2 m/s) and has been a game changer for pipeline inspection and seabed mapping jobs. With this ROV, the data acquisition for these projects can now be completed a lot faster than traditionally, thus reducing vessel time and as a result this company is picking up a lot of work.

I'll get some decent pictures once we leave the 500 metre zone and I can get outside again.

[Saint Willy]

How many people would be on a rig like that at any one time?

[Stumpy]

Awesome Pics Mendy. Sea looks quite calm.

[Edmond]

A ship can transport a boat but a boat can't transport a ship.

Daddy's home.

[Headworx]

I sleep well offshore... maybe it's the gentle rocking motion of the boat or maybe it's being away from the aggravations of married life?

Probably a bit of both . But yeah, that really deep sleep that seems to come naturally at sea is fantastic! It never ceased to amaze me how large vessels get moved around (albeit gently) in the slightest of swells, especially if they're locked into a beam-on heading. It's funny seeing the promo shots of private small yachts and their dining tables set with fine china and crystal without a non-skid mat in sight, if even a small swell came thru the lot of it would be smashed on the floor in seconds!

Unless we have a storm of course...

Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours.

[Mendip]

^^^^ It's a platform, not a rig mate.

I have no idea how many would be onboard but I bet it's fewer than you'd expect. There's so much automation these days and a lot will be done from shore. PAG would have a good idea.

We have 49 onboard our vessel.


^^^ Yes, we've been lucky with the good weather and are making use of it to get all the 500 metre zone workscope finished up. The weather's due up at the end of the week with 5m seas forecast. We may be able to work through it but not close to the platform.

[ootai]

Now that you have mentioned 5m seas I don't think it would matter to me how good or bad the food is/was it wouldn't stay in my stomach long enough to matter.

Mendip are you stuck on nightshift permanently or do you rotate with someone?

Are you allowed to go to the galley while on shift? If you are why don't you go and make a plate for your "breakfast".

With 49 people on board it must surely feel cosy at times.

[OhOh]

for pipeline inspection and seabed mapping jobs.

What is your project definition? Virgin seabed exploration, annul checkup examinations .... ?

From your previous "work post" you appeared to monitor the ROV cameras in real time, what if, "something unexpected" appears?

Do you have a big red button marked, "STOP all Engines"? How often do you press it, just to make sure it works.

Do your ROVs take seabed samples, if so how frequently? Once onboard do you, being the Senior Geologist, analyse them or are they shipped ashore?

Lastly, how often do you lose a ROV?

[dirk diggler]

It's a platform, not a rig mate.

Aye but when we're on them we call it the rig

When I would work on offshore platforms during planned shutdowns there would be full or close to full POB (personnel on board), which could be around 150-300 or more depending on the size and capabilities of the platform.

As Mendip has stated, many are operated from shore now with minimum POB as possible on board.

[Saint Willy]

Thanks, I was going to ask the difference…

[nidhogg]

Mendip, please remember that all response to ohho will be reported back to the politbureau.....

[OhOh]

the politbureau

They did send some medical advice regarding his toe nail. Unfortunately, it involved a CTM practice visit.

[Mendip]

Mendip are you stuck on nightshift permanently or do you rotate with someone?

Are you allowed to go to the galley while on shift? If you are why don't you go and make a plate for your "breakfast".

With 49 people on board it must surely feel cosy at times.

Ootai, I'll probably stay on night shift for the duration as I hate changing shifts during a trip. It was my choice... midnight to midday is 5am to 5pm Korat time so I avoid any jet lag and it's good for keeping in touch with the daughter. Also, the vast majority of people on this boat are on 6-6 (days or nights) so I can avoid the busy times in the gym.

I could go to the galley and start cooking up a meal while on shift but it would be highly unusual and probably frowned upon since I'm supposed to be working. Now that I'm getting day food plated up for my 6am meal it's not a problem. But I still like to moan about it anyway... I'm a pom.

A POB of 49 on this boat is low... I've worked here before with 70 or 80 on board for construction projects when riggers, welders, deck foremen etc will also join us. We have a small inspection/survey crew on at the moment as well... it can get a lot busier. These contractors are having a difficult time finding personnel... the industry has become very busy this year but Covid makes the logistics of crewing a ship almost impossible. We are one key person down now, since the day before he was due on board one of his kids was sent home from school because a class mate had Covid. This guy now had to self isolate and getting a last minute replacement was impossible due to the negative test requirement.

This boat (ship) is 95 metres long and don't forget that the personnel are divided between shifts so many are sleeping at any one time. It's like a ghost ship at times. When I started doing this work 30 years ago we usually used old trawlers maybe 60 metres long... then it could get cosy (especially if there was a nice stewardess on board ).

What is your project definition? Virgin seabed exploration, annul checkup examinations .... ?

From your previous "work post" you appeared to monitor the ROV cameras in real time, what if, "something unexpected" appears?

Do you have a big red button marked, "STOP all Engines"? How often do you press it, just to make sure it works.

Do your ROVs take seabed samples, if so how frequently? Once onboard do you, being the Senior Geologist, analyse them or are they shipped ashore?

Lastly, how often do you lose a ROV?

The vessel is actually doing riser, structure and pipeline inspection around the Heidrun field just now, ie. inspecting existing infrastructure. This is usually my bread and butter work but I don't have my inspection hat on for this trip. I'm working on a seabed mapping project for a new development... so mapping new 'virgin' seabed to find suitable pipeline/cable routes, locations for templates and anchors, etc etc. It is the same project in the Barents Sea I was working on last year (in my previous thread)... this contractor won the next phase of the work and being familiar with the project was just great. The data was acquired before I cme onboard and now I'm wading through it... this was going to be my 3 to 4 months work in the Norwegian office before Brexit put paid to that (thanks Boris you wanker).

The ROV crew and online surveyors will be watching the ROV camera footage in real time while performing the inspections but everything is recorded to digital video for later analysis and stuff.

I guess there will be an 'All stop' button somewhere but I doubt it will turn off the engines... that's the last thing you want in an emergency. I was once on a crappy old boat in West Africa that had a complete blackout... drifting beam on to the swell towards a platform with no power wasn't a nice experience.

Our workclass ROV could take samples if we had the tools to be held by the manipulator, but that's rarely our job. Another contractor on a dedicated vessel is currently carrying out a geotechnical campaign across the new development area I'm working on. This involves taking cores down to a depth of maybe 20 metres or so and carrying out a number of tests that measure soil shear strength, density, porosity, composition etc, all of which is valuable information for the engineers when considering anchorage, pipeline/cable trenching etc. The locations they perform the tests at are based on the survey/geophysical results from last year.

I have my geophysicist hat on for this trip... my job is to go through the acoustic sub-seabed data (same principal as the seismic data that exploration geos look at... but I'm interested in the top 20 metres below the seabed max, whereas they are looking kilometres below the seabed). I try and tie-in any sedimentary horizons I find on the acoustic data with any available geotechnical results to give my interpretation some grounding. For example... I have a strong sedimentary boundary on the acoustic data that looks like the top of a hard glacial boulder clay... an important layer because it can't be trenched through... but it is only my interpretation and experience that makes me think this and there is no proof from just the acoustic data.

I checked the geotechnical data at a test location that was bang on one of my survey lines and a core test that would normally penetrate to 15 metres below the seabed stopped at 3 metres due to resistance... ie. a very stiff clay. My acoustic boundary at that location was suggested at 3m below the seabed... so now I know what that boundary represents and I can extend that grounding across the entire site. Without such grounding, entire projects can be just interpretation when 'possibly' is the most common word in the report.

I guess those geotechnical results for me are the equivalent of Headworx's rotary lie detectors for the exploration geos.

And as for losing an ROV... it just doesn't happen these days. The vehicles are very slightly positively buoyant so if one did become detached from the umbilical for whatever reason, it would eventually float up to the surface. In the past this was a regular occurrence and it was common to launch the MOB boat to go and retrieve and escapee ROV.

There's also a gas export pipeline in Norway with an ROV trapped beneath... it got too close to the touchdown point of the pipeline while it being laid and the pipeline went straight across it. That was in the 80s and the ROV is still there... those lay barges stop for nothing.


But anyway, back to the important stuff...

At 3am every morning the night cook puts out the stickies...

In a previous life I would have had a big slice of this stuff, it's really good.



But that was then and this is now.

A spoonful of unroasted and unsalted nuts...



And a couple of pieces of fruit... there's even some raw turnip for the Scandinavians.



I'm taking this seriously and am going to win one of Dirk's pies.

I've been on board for a week now and no longer have to wear a mask, but most importantly I'm now allowed in the gym. At 10pm tonight, before my shift, it all starts. No more obese... fat bastard here I come!

[Saint Willy]

Good effort, Mendy! :strong:

[bsnub]

there's even some raw turnip for the Scandinavians.

How do you eat your turnips? I love them raw as a snack or cut into a salad.

[Stumpy]

No more obese... fat bastard here I come!

Go Mendy Go....

Btw. What is the latest on your dead toenails. 555. You lose more? That pond will haunt you.

[PAG]

How do you eat your turnips? I love them raw as a snack or cut into a salad.

Typically peeled, chopped and boiled until tender, then mashed with some butter and pepper. In Scotland, known as 'Neeps'.

[bsnub]

Typically peeled, chopped and boiled until tender, then mashed with some butter and pepper.

Interesting. Mashed turnips. Just may have to give that a try. I won't stop eating them raw, however I would miss them in salads.

[aging one]

I have heard of radishes in salad and enjoy them but never turnips snubs.

[Edmond]

I have heard of radishes in salad and enjoy them but never turnips snubs.

I believe raw turnip salad was quite common in 18th century rural Vladivostok.

[bsnub]

I have heard of radishes in salad and enjoy them but never turnips snubs.

Those are good raw and in salads too. I am actually a big fan of raw vegetables. I eat broccoli and cauliflower raw as well.