Unidentified Helicopter tries to land on BP's "Marlin" Tensioned Leg Platform

Offshore
1

I heard from a friend of mine that a helicopter tried to land on the Marlin last last week without clearance. Apparently they called up the platform and said they were preparing to land, but after being questioned as to who they were, the response was, “we’ll tell you when we get there.”

The Marlin then shut off the the lights on the landing pad and the helicopter was forced to fly back to Mississippi.

I haven’t been able to confirm any of the details about this story from official sources though. Anyone know exactly what happened?

2

And so it begins… AIS for helicopters?

3

It probably had a bunch of protesters of some sort aboard.

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That was my thought too. Maybe Lucy Lawless is out of jail looking for another place to protest.

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[QUOTE=rob;65168]I heard from a friend of mine that a helicopter tried to land on the Marlin last last week without clearance. Apparently they called up the platform and said they were preparing to land, but after being questioned as to who they were, the response was, “we’ll tell you when we get there.”

The Marlin then shut off the the lights on the landing pad and the helicopter was forced to fly back to Mississippi.

I haven’t been able to confirm any of the details about this story from official sources though. Anyone know exactly what happened?[/QUOTE]

I wonder why the lights were on in the first place.

6

Security drill?

I rua a couple where we did things and only let a few people know what was happening to get the real effect. After we were done, with the exceptional of the people we wanted to brief, we left it at that. Misinformation is so much better at hiding things that denying or coming up with a cover story.

Since it did not make the news and it was not met with a “reception committee”, that is where my money would be…

7

[QUOTE=Ea$y Money;65291]And so it begins… AIS for helicopters?[/QUOTE]

Not a bad idea.

8

Aircraft have had it for years. It is called IFF (International Friend or Foe) . All the oilfield has to do is buy the interrogators, install them on all the platforms and train people to use. I am thinking that will happen sometime AFTER a plane or helicopter is flown into a platform and the government turns down the idea of AAA (Anti-Aircraft Artillery) on platforms and rigs.

It is not going to happen…

The platform did the right thing by turning off the lights. Of course if the helo was serious, they would have had night vision goggles on the pilot. Look if someone wants to invade or destroy a platform or facility, they will. I am not defending my vessel, I am handing them the keys. I don’t have the weapons, training or personnel to defend the boat and don’t want weapons aboard, they are too much of a hassle.

Standing by for the 2nd amendment arguments and then intentionally ignoring them…