The Monthly Chronicles of the SubSea Solutions Alliance
The summer months are upon us here in the northern hemisphere. With the cruise fleet shifting from their winter to summer itineraries, the member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance remain very busy supporting their maintenance and equipment repair needs. Through the Subsea Solutions Alliance's fuel management program, cruise lines are enjoying "flat lined" fuel consumption; it's just like coming out of the dry dock! The fuel management program consists of routine inspections, class required In-water surveys and optimally timed hull cleaning and propeller polishing. The Subsea Solutions Alliance manages this entire critical cost savings process, sets up yearly schedules and develops specific maintenance and inspection plans for each specific vessel in the operators fleet based on that vessels specific itinerary. Cruise vessels in this program are ALWAYS efficient and fully compliant as the in-water class required surveys together with hull cleaning and propeller polishing are performed when required at the optimal time in the most cost effective and efficient port of call within the itinerary. Finally, superintendents and vessel operators can focus on what they do best: the critical elements of vessel operations.
The Subsea Solutions Alliance continues to remain the premier underwater equipment repair company. This month seemed to be the month of the "Rudder" as the expert diver / technicians of the Subsea Solutions Alliance were involved in many rudder repairs around the world. From the replacement of link pins in high-lift rudders to class approved underwater wet welding to install bracket plates or renewal of welds in affected areas, multiple rudder repairs were performed in various locations throughout the world. Combining our expertise with Original Equipment Manufacturer personnel, the Subsea Solutions Alliance provided the in-water support so that critical internal seal and bushing repairs could be performed by the Original Equipment Manufacturer without extracting the rudder or relocating the vessel to a location with a dry dock. In-water does not mean out of luck when it comes to rudders. It just involves the expertise of the Subsea Solutions Alliance.
In this month's edition of the Chronicles we will feature some interesting repairs performed around the world as well as introduce you to one of my colleagues who makes all of this possible. Fast response and quality service demonstrates that the impossible is POSSIBLE when the Subsea Solutions Alliance is called to the scene. Making all of these interesting repairs successful requires fortitude, aptitude and drive. My colleagues and I remain focused on serving your needs and I look forward to introducing you to them more closely in this and the future Chronicles to come. We look forward to continuing to work together with all of our valued clients around the world and we thank you for your continued patronage and support.
Monthly Summary of Major Projects Performed by the Subsea Solutions Alliance
The Subsea Solutions Alliance was very busy in June meeting the needs of the industry by performing multiple high value repairs in various ports around the world. The summary below illustrates just some of the major projects performed.
• 1 Tunnel Thruster installation occurred in Europe
• 1 Tunnel Thruster repair was performed in Europe
• 1 Tunnel Thruster repair was performed in Taiwan
• 1 Tunnel Thruster exchange was performed in the Middle East
• 1 Azimuthing Thruster repair was performed in Singapore
• 1 Permanent Insert repair was performed in Korea
• 1 Permanent Insert repair was performed on the West coast of Canada
• 1 Permanent Insert repair was performed on the West coast of the USA
• 3 Specialty Oxygen cutting projects were performed in Central Europe
• 1 monoblock propeller repair with Sectional reduction was performed in the Southeast USA
• 3 monoblock propeller repairs with Sectional reduction were performed in Central Europe
• 1 monoblock propeller repair with Sectional reduction was performed in the Middle East
• 2 Rudder repairs were performed on the West Coast of Canada
• 1 Rudder repair was performed in the Caribbean
• 1 Rudder Removal and Replacement was performed in the Southeast USA
• 1 Rudder repair was performed on the West Coast of the USA
• Multiple large Marine and Land based Construction projects were performed in Long Beach and Los Angeles, California, USA
Time to Play in the mud!- Hydro-blasting in utility shafts far below the surface
The Subsea Solutions Alliance remains available to the ship repair markets, marine construction and land based construction markets on a global basis. Considering the unique capabilities and specialized skills that the member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance have developed over the years, thought to be impossible solutions are developed for even the land based construction industry.
As part of a new construction project in the center of town, far from the sea in the Southwestern USA, a construction company contracted the Subsea Solutions Alliance office in Long Beach California to provide diving support during the new construction of vaults for municipal water piping. This urban setting away from the coastline and sea water was a "new twist" on an old problem for the Subsea Solutions Alliance. In order to fabricate these vaults for the piping systems below the surface, very hard mud and rock needed to be removed underwater. Considering that the affected area was over 70 feet (21 meters) below the surface, the highly skilled diver / technicians had to employ advanced air diving techniques with a Nitrox air diving system in order to maintain a suitable amount of time below the surface to extract the materials. With visibility at ZERO at all times, skilled diver / technicians utilized a purpose built hydro-blasting tool to extract the rock and hard mud materials safely and efficiently from the affected area. Once the affected areas were prepared, proper forms were installed and the concrete vaults were poured.
SSA Diving into the "Vault"
'To perform a safe and effective hydro-blasting process, the engineering department of the Subsea Solutions Alliance developed a specialized blasting tip to safely and efficiently blast water at 10,000 psi (690 Bar) being propelled by a 325 Horsepower diesel driven blasting pump to remove the heavy mud and rock. This specialized tool saved the general contractor valuable time and money and demonstrated again that thinking "in the water" sometimes turns challenging problems into underwater solutions.
Water is found everywhere but sometimes NOT to drink. The Subsea Solutions Alliance develops solutions for all types of waterborne problems. From ships to shore, the member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance are your underwater resource for advanced underwater service.
Offshore Installations- When a Retractable Thruster won't Retract!
While visiting clients in Singapore, a prominent Singaporean shipyard called the Subsea Solutions Alliance to discuss an emergency issue they had with a newly built pipe-laying vessel that was soon to be delivered. During trials of a retractable azimuthing thruster, the unit would NOT retract and appeared to be seized. Various methods of repair were evaluated and tried until it was determined that the unit could not be drawn back into the vessel and was seized in position. Various diving contractors were called to an emergency meeting at the shipyard to brainstorm methods of repair.
As experts in underwater azimuthing thruster repair, with experience in underwater re-alignment of azimuthing thrusters, the Subsea Solutions Alliance was able to diagnose the problem and develop an alternative repair solution quickly. As the shipyard and vessel's owner did not want to use an exothermic cutting or gouging system and the shipyard was concerned about using a carbon arc gouging system in the affected area the only alternatives available were to grind or cut the 70-mm thick stay plate. The affected plate required two cuts with an overall cut length of over 2 meters. To add to the complication of this job, the material of the stay plate was hardened machine grade steel and had a continuous 70 mm thickness along its entire length.
Grinding this stay plate underwater would be extremely time consuming and expensive to perform. As the stay plate material was very hard and was very thick, it would have taken a considerable amount of shifts (maybe 4 to 5 times the number of shifts) when compared to executing the required cuts with the specialized equipment from the Subsea Solutions Alliance. The member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance have developed a specialized cutting saw specifically designed to cut steel plate up to 200 mm thick! This specialized saw is used in underwater metal cutting and propeller sectional reduction applications. When the esteemed shipyard heard of this alternative all focus turned to how FAST the member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance could mobilize on site.
During the afternoon meeting a repair procedure and repair time line was developed with the Subsea Solutions Alliance representative on site supported by the European office of the SSA, the shipyard, owner and surveyors. While personnel in the North American office's of the Subsea Solutions Alliance slept they were unaware that within hours of their arrival to the office they would be leaving to the Far East. This time line determined how long it would take to install the cutting saw and then execute the required cuts to the Stay plate. The time line estimated that it would take two- 12 hour shifts to execute the necessary cuts to the stay plate. A local support vessel and team was mobilized and within 3 hours of receiving the official order from the shipyard, personnel and specialized equipment was mobilized from Subsea Solutions Alliance's office in Vancouver, Canada and was enroute to Singapore.
During the next two twelve hour shifts the stay plates were cut and the thruster was allowed to freely "align" itself in the retraction column. Once this occurred, the unit was able to retract back into the vessel for dry-docking and final repair by the shipyard.
Working around the clock, utilizing technical expertise from a global network of underwater specialists and mobilizing a work force with equipment capable of being carried on conventional passenger aircraft makes the member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance true problem solvers. Our services are not only limited to ship owners and operators, but can compliment shipyard activities as well. Let's explore what we can do for you to optimize your ship repair and SHIP BUILDING activities.