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What makes the L/B MYRTLE different from other liftboats is that it is
equipped with a bow thruster and
controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater maneuverability and pinpoint
positioning of the huge legs with oversized pads on the ocean bottom.
Lee Orgeron, Montco’s president states, “We always strive to give our
customers the best possible service with the highest level of safety built-in.
The bow thruster, CP wheels and joystick operations give us the edge. With this
high degree of control over the vessel, we can more effectively avoid underwater
hazards such as piping, can-holes, and other rig infrastructure.”
When asked why other liftboats are not similarly equipped, Orgeron
replied, “Oh, that’s simple. This extra equipment is very expensive. We put
it on the L/B MYRTLE to help our customers improve their bottom line, while it
helps us to have satisfied customers.”
Orgeron said almost all liftboats use their main engines to either
maneuver or operate the leg lift system while in neutral which interferes with
positioning. “With this boat,” he said, “we can maintain jacking speed and
hold a precise position at the same time.”
The vessel, named in honor of Myrtle Orgeron, mother of Lee Orgeron, is
equipped with 40 foot by 16-foot pads, much larger than those on other
liftboats, to provide for greater bottom stability and greater deck loads. The
L/B MYRTLE can also jack with a full pre-load and its unique system has quick
acting stainless steel dump valves to allow a more rapid discharge, thus
allowing work to begin sooner following pre-load.
It is equipped with three Nautilus cranes with 150, 50 and 25-ton
capacities in an innovative configuration. The
smaller crane is positioned on the starboard stern so that support vessels can
tie-up to the liftboat and offload personnel, cargo, and/or fluids without
hindering other work being done by the liftboat. “That is another indicator of the work we and Bollinger did
to design the most efficient liftboat possible,” said Orgeron. The
150-ton crane has a 110-foot boom and is equipped with VHF radio, loudhailer,
load indicator and boom-mounted video camera with monitor to assist when load
hook-ups are out of the normal view of the operator.
It is 137.5-feet long, with a 92-foot beam and hull depth of
13-feet. Open deck area is 6,000 square feet. Its three legs are 72 inches
in diameter and constructed of 1½-inch wall thickness high strength steel.
Power is supplied by two Caterpillar 3512-B diesels developing a total of
3,000 BHP. They drive Berg controllable pitch propellers through Reintjes
reduction gears provided by Karl Senner,
Inc. Electrical power is produced by two 190 KW generators driven
by Caterpillar 3306 diesels. A 350
BHP hydraulic motor drives the bow thruster.
The Hydraquip jacking system is designed using the latest hydraulic
and computer technology to accurately control the leg position. The programmable
logic controller provides all jacking system logic, safety interlocks,
leg position and alarm monitoring. The hydraulic system incorporates a
three speed jacking system that allows leg tagging at 11 ft/min, normal
jacking at 6 ft/min and preload jacking at 2 ft/min. The jacking system has
counterbalance (holding) valves at each motor for pinion isolation. All
jacking system pressures, system status, temperatures, alarms, and
operation manual are displayed on a liquid crystal plasma touch screen.
The boat’s fully equipped galley can serve 20 persons per seating and
its 12 staterooms have 46 berths with three separate digital satellite
television systems piped to 12 locations throughout the vessel.
Navigation equipment includes radars, depth sounder, loudhailer, a GMDDS
station, magnetic compass, wind speed and direction indicators, 2 VHF radios, a
SSB radio, a global positioning system, joystick-controlled positioning system and
autopilot.
Regulatory classifications are ABS loadline, SOLAS/MARPOL, USCG Subchapter
L.
Some capacities are:
32,536 gallons fuel; 22,132 gallons fresh water; 1530 gallons lube oil; 1,801 gallons
jacking hydraulic oil; 250 gallons crane hydraulic oil; 1,530 gallons dirty oil;
295 gallons oily bilge water, and 16,070 gallons zero
discharge tank.
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., (www.BollingerShipyards.com)
is a leading builder of offshore oil field support vessels,
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