I was out at some EXXI facilities today and that photo is indeed what is left of the platform. One well has been knocked completely over and only 2 remain above the water is what was I was told by one of the employees. That was a hell of a lick to knock that thing over.
Not as much damage to the boat as I would have expected.
I’m thinking instead of 4 lic captains they might go with 6
I wonder what kind of condition the platform was in? Three or four years ago we were working as a field boat, shuffling crews between platforms. One passenger, an engineer assessing structural integrity of the platforms, commented that when the platforms were first built, they had a design life of something like 20-25 years, and the oil companies could only expect to recover about 30% of the known oil reserves.
Now with new technology, they can recover up to 70% of the reserves, but the platforms are well past their life expectancy and require extensive “deferred maintenance.” He told the story of one platform where they had dropped a used cable over the side, and it ended up resting against a leg of the platform. Over the years the currents kept moving the cable back and forth and it became a saw blade that cut into the platform leg.
So in a manner of months the Odyssea Courage rams the Q4000 and destroys a survival craft and the Connor Bordelon hits an destroys an active platform as well as severely damaging herself.
What the hell is next, a huge 300’ plus new build sinks at the old Fourchon intersection?
This this stuff could not come at a worse time.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think what looks like a gash is the growth in the bottom rubbed off and what looks like frames is just the frames printing through the steel. I just don’t see how you could have a gash that large and miss-shapen and have the frames still straight up and down.
I’m with you on that as well you would see some steel rolled up with a gash like that
Roger on that. There may be a penetration there somewhere but most of it is clean copper paint with some denting between the frames.
I still say the platform they hit was a satellite. We’re departing in the AM. See if we can tell what’s different at the Hole as we pass through.
Just been scraping the waterline Cap, no damage here, sir. Have to keep that waterline clean!
Another picture I saw tonight showed an obvious bit of plating missing aft of that, but it was neatly cut out like they were cleaning up some buckled sections or a small hole for new steel
I have an idea who this was and it is proof positive that Karma is alive and well.