Dennis is No Menace in GOM
Hurricane Dennis, a 140 MPH hurricane roared through the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico July 8-9 but caused little damage to oil platforms, drill rigs or to the shipyards in its path. In contrast, the 140 MPH Hurricane Ivan that traveled through the same waters last fall, caused extensive damage to platforms, rigs and especially to underwater pipelines. “It caused all of the worry, but resulted in none of the work of Ivan,” commented Dr. Joe Orgeron, chief technology officer for Montco Offshore,Inc a leading operator of lift boats. Only one platform appeared to be damaged by Dennis’ winds. That was BP’s Thunder Horse platform located in Mississippi Canyon Block 778, 150 miles southeast of New Orleans.
Putting the "Lift" into Liftboats
In the strictest sense, a liftboat is a self-propelled crane barge that can elevate itself above the water line. It is the cranes that make a liftboat such a valuable tool for building and/or renovating offshore oil and gas structures. A recent example of the working ability of these liftboats is the L/B Myrtle, a 137.5-ft. by 92-ft. vessel with a trio of 245-ft. legs, enabling the vessel to work in water depths of 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap. The vessel was built by Bollinger Shipyards in their Lockport facility and sent to Bollinger's Amelia, La. shipyard for the outfitting of the three legs. Montco Offshore, Inc., Galliano, La., owns the vessel. Montco owns six liftboats capable of operating in water depths from 75 to 180 ft.
