Same shit, different ship

[DrWilly]

I'ma lava these jokes.

[david44]

I'ma lava these jokes.

Pumice you won't

[DrWilly]

oh my, I think we have finally hit rock bottom.

[MarilynMonroe]

Great pics, Mendy and interesting commentary.

Always an adventure onboard.

[helge]

I'ma lava these jokes.

Jesus Crystal

[Topper]

Thanks again Mendy! I bet the navigator was in heaven going thru that windfarm.

[reinvented]

oh my, I think we have finally hit rock bottom.

hes probably stoned

[reinvented]

and he said-he-meant-harry!

[pickel]

Double rubble

Better luck next lime

You're sharp as a bit.......... and twice as boring, helge.

[David48atTD]

^ Igneous is bliss at times, Helge.

Sedimentery, my dear Mendip

Will this thread metamorphise into something else?

[Mendip]

Great pics, Mendy and interesting commentary.

Thanks MM, but please don't show your cleavage on this thread because I don't want to test my hardness!


Anyway, enough of these silly puns and time to start with a fresh slate.

I have two shifts left after today so I had my penultimate gym session before this shift. I've been visiting this damn gym almost every day for the past six weeks and it doesn't feel like it's made any difference at all.

Without hopefully getting too Edmondish, I start on the treadmill... and tonight I had the choice of watching the in house ship's channel... which is pretty boring to be honest but it may help show how the ship follows the ROV as we do pipeline inspection. The ROV completely controls the ship's position and the ship follows along behind using its thrusters. The vessel is on DP and can usually set up in the most comfortable heading with regards wave direction, etc, to keep the workers happy.



Tonight I caught around 30 seconds of the Eurovision Pong contest, which was at least 29 seconds too much to be honest. I later found out my 30 seconds were of the winning song by some Swedish bint who's nipples you could see through her latex outfit, which is no doubt why people voted for her.



And a bit of footy... and yes, I do five bloody kilometres before every single shift. What a waste of time this has been.



Followed by some stuff on this...



And then stuff this machine... making up a full hour. That must be around 40 hours in the gym I've done over the past six weeks with no obvious difference at all. I don't know why I bother.




When I started shift the surveyor's navigation pc was showing this... we had nearly finished Norpipe. Those are the Frisian Islands again.



Yesterday we worked our way out from the German coast on Europipe II and then back in again on Norpipe. My very first offshore trip in 1991 started from Teesside to do inspection work for PPCoN (Phillips Petroleum Company Norway) around Ekofisk. This included an inspection of the 36 inch gas export pipeline from Ekofisk to Emden in Germany. Subsequent bypasses and hook-ups means that, the Emden pipeline now bypasses Ekofisk and has been joined by a section of pipeline from Norway, and is now called Norpipe and exports gas to Emden for Equinor.

Yes, it's the same bloody pipeline. So basically after 32 years I'm still doing exactly the same bloody thing.

This was the end of our survey, around 15km from the Frisian Islands. The pipeline crosses one of the islands and then carries on to a plant in Emden.

Germany...





Once we finished our work in the German Sector the ROV was recovered and we started a 24 hour transit back to Norway. This is great because flights are now confirmed and I get off this damn boat on Tuesday.

This was my live feed tonight... a view of the grill on which the ROV has been sea-fastened for the transit. This is the best view possible because it means that no data is coming in.



We have around 100km of Europipe II to inspect off the Norwegian coast once we arrive late tomorrow night and once that's finished we head in to Stavanger.

For crew change.

And I can't wait.

[malmomike77]

^ that UK travel thread won't start itself

[BLD]

Thanks MM, but please don't show your cleavage on this thread because I don't want to test my hardness!


Anyway, enough of these silly puns and time to start with a fresh slate.

I have two shifts left after today so I had my penultimate gym session before this shift. I've been visiting this damn gym almost every day for the past six weeks and it doesn't feel like it's made any difference at all.

Without hopefully getting too Edmondish, I start on the treadmill... and tonight I had the choice of watching the in house ship's channel... which is pretty boring to be honest but it may help show how the ship follows the ROV as we do pipeline inspection. The ROV completely controls the ship's position and the ship follows along behind using its thrusters. The vessel is on DP and can usually set up in the most comfortable heading with regards wave direction, etc, to keep the workers happy.



Tonight I caught around 30 seconds of the Eurovision Pong contest, which was at least 29 seconds too much to be honest. I later found out my 30 seconds were of the winning song by some Swedish bint who's nipples you could see through her latex outfit, which is no doubt why people voted for her.



And a bit of footy... and yes, I do five bloody kilometres before every single shift. What a waste of time this has been.



Followed by some stuff on this...



And then stuff this machine... making up a full hour. That must be around 40 hours in the gym I've done over the past six weeks with no obvious difference at all. I don't know why I bother.




When I started shift the surveyor's navigation pc was showing this... we had nearly finished Norpipe. Those are the Frisian Islands again.



Yesterday we worked our way out from the German coast on Europipe II and then back in again on Norpipe. My very first offshore trip in 1991 started from Teesside to do inspection work for PPCoN (Phillips Petroleum Company Norway) around Ekofisk. This included an inspection of the 36 inch gas export pipeline from Ekofisk to Emden in Germany. Subsequent bypasses and hook-ups means that, the Emden pipeline now bypasses Ekofisk and has been joined by a section of pipeline from Norway, and is now called Norpipe and exports gas to Emden for Equinor.

Yes, it's the same bloody pipeline. So basically after 32 years I'm still doing exactly the same bloody thing.

This was the end of our survey, around 15km from the Frisian Islands. The pipeline crosses one of the islands and then carries on to a plant in Emden.

Germany...





Once we finished our work in the German Sector the ROV was recovered and we started a 24 hour transit back to Norway. This is great because flights are now confirmed and I get off this damn boat on Tuesday.

This was my live feed tonight... a view of the grill on which the ROV has been sea-fastened for the transit. This is the best view possible because it means that no data is coming in.



We have around 100km of Europipe II to inspect off the Norwegian coast once we arrive late tomorrow night and once that's finished we head in to Stavanger.

For crew change.

And I can't wait.

Thats all very interesting mendy but i kind of tuned out when i saw that swedish bird with the headlights on high beam , damn i would of voted for her to.

[Edmond]

^ I just googled and it's a lady-man.

[BLD]

Just kidding,one thing though is intrigueing me though is who books the flights for the crew change assuming all goes as planned and you do all get of in stavenger ? What happens if something doesnt go to plan? And your delayed a day or 2 , how many people will crew change? And how do you get from stavenger to the airport for the big bird? Must be some good logistics people.

[DrWilly]

The Australian entry, Voyager came in 9th place. I’ve never heard of them before. And little wonder.

[BLD]

[QUOTE=Edmond;4502981]^ I just googled and it's a noooo say it aint so

[Topper]

Mendip, I'm assuming that bit of rope on your desk is to lash down the chair in a seaway, is that right?

[Reg Dingle]

Some kinda Michael Hutchence style tourniquet or peg boy restraining device...I'd imagine

[baldrick]

you suspend your glacial rock in it so you can rub your nutsack with history

[DrWilly]

Some kinda Michael Hutchence style tourniquet or peg boy restraining device...I'd imagine

Oh my.

Bendy Mendy caught in 4K!

[Mendip]

^^, ^^^

No, you're both wrong surprisingly enough, but not surprising for bloody landlubbers.

Topper had it, that elasticated rope loop is to stow the chair in bad weather. However I daresay Ed could use it as a hand strap to grab hold of, if ever he comes to visit.

I also have one at my desk... and there will be more at every desk and table on the ship.



In fact when you look around there's loads of modifications necessary for seafastening when you work on a boat. I take it for granted but your average landlubber may be interested?

The treadmill I start my day on is bolted to the deck.



Every table has a non-slip mat and a rim around the edge to stop things sliding off.



Corridors have railings to grab hold of.



All shelves have a lip to stop things sliding off.



Bookcases have holding bars.



Monitors are all velcro-ed to the desks. The big heavy monitors from the old days were screwed down.



And from personal experience I have learnt to make my own coffee mug non-slip mat.



When I get back home it can take a few days to stop myself pushing cups away from the edges of tables, pint glasses away from the edges of bars, etc. It just becomes second nature for half of my life.

Just kidding,one thing though is intrigueing me though is who books the flights for the crew change assuming all goes as planned and you do all get of in stavenger ? What happens if something doesnt go to plan? And your delayed a day or 2 , how many people will crew change? And how do you get from stavenger to the airport for the big bird? Must be some good logistics people.

The personnel department do all that stuff. Don't give them too much credit as that's their only job and they have everyone's home airport in the system and just send everything off to a travel agent. They still manage to fukk it up quite regularly though... usually with people getting someone else's flights to the wrong airports. However I've noticed that not many complain if they get given my Bangkok flights instead of somewhere like Birmingham.

Last minute delays can cause chaos with oncoming crews backed up in hotels and offgoing crews getting unhappier by the hour, and multiple last minute flight changes etc, but that rarely happens on this spread when the boat tends to go in to shore every two weeks like clockwork. This crew change will be around 20 people (just project crew, marine crew change out every four weeks) and a taxi or minibus usually manages to get people to the airports.

If I've learnt one thing during my 32 years of this shit is to take the crew change girl a bottle of duty free if ever I go to the office for work. That is a few quid very well spent. My flights are as good as they could be this week and I'll be in Bangkok before I know it. My only issue may be too short a connection at AMS with the horrendous queues to leave Schengen... but I'm not going to complain about Brexit again.

The Australian entry, Voyager came in 9th place. I’ve never heard of them before. And little wonder.

How the hell does Australia qualify for the Eurovision???


It's my last full shift tonight and we are finishing up with 170km of Europipe II which makes landfall in Norway, not far from Stavanger. We'll follow the pipeline all the way into shore and then break off for the crew change. This is a bastard because it means we'll be working right up until the end. It's nice to get a long transit for port calls to get a few hours break.

My live feed tonight... (full marks if anyone spotted the fishing net)

[david44]

Great stuff shipmate, need some of them grabrails in my bathroom on a rough night.

I never cease to wonder and enjoy as a vessel sets sail and the land gently recedes

There is something wonderful about leisure at sea the sound of the rigging the sea birds, odd seal , whale or dolphin if you are lucky , in good weather the gentle lull to sleep like a baby, nearest I'll get this year are Irish Sea ferries , possibly a Calmac if running to Barra ,a few sails in Irish sea , yachting in English Channel to Brittany and perhaps a ferry to Holland if Eurostar to Brussels is on strike.

A great thread which is a red hot contender for thread of the year IMHO

What's it got

Good pix,
Used Tissues and Marine issues
Plenty of tech geek data and diagrams
A rock and the Phiiipino delivery methodology, geology , soxology
Katie's interesting tangents

It's got the lot

[Topper]

I wonder how many bruises those handrails in the passage have caused.

[Reg Dingle]

When I get back home it can take a few days to stop myself pushing cups away from the edges of tables, pint glasses away from the edges of bars, etc

....scanning for pipe around Bangkok?