The buzz along the Port Angeles waterfront — indeed, much of the North Olympic Peninsula — has been about the Polar Pioneer drilling rig that is now floating on its own and remains moored in Port Angeles Harbor.
What fascinates me is that the rig was brought to Port Angeles from Malaysia on April 17 sitting aboard Blue Marlin, a semi-submersible, heavy-lift ship that was designed to transport such rigs.
To my mind’s eye, it seems to defy physics that a behemoth as large and imposing as Polar Pioneer — likely the tallest vessel ever to park in the harbor — could sit atop a ship bobbing like a cork in the ocean for journey of roughly 9,000 nautical miles without tipping over.
Heck, I can’t keep a bar of soap afloat in the bathtub.
The transoceanic trip was possible because Polar Pioneer was welded to the deck of Blue Marlin.
In total, there were 17,000 feet of welds securing the drilling rig to the deck of the ship.
In Port Angeles, 65 welders were required to go aboard and free up the welds before the rig could be separated from Blue Marlin.
Then it was fascinating to see the ship submerge to a point where her cargo deck was fully submerged so the Polar Pioneer could be floated off last Sunday.
Then the red-hulled Blue Marlin rose to its normal height by midday Monday.
The heavy-lift ship departed Port Angeles on Thursday and was headed southwest in the Pacific, according to tracking logged Saturday.
She’s expected to arrive in Singapore by June 8, according to vesselfinder.com.
Royal Dutch Shell plc, which owns the Polar Pioneer, hadn’t announced at press time Saturday when the rig will be towed to Seattle for a planned extended stay.
An interesting factoid:
Blue Marlin — which had a blue hull at the time — was used to return the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole to the United States after the Navy ship was heavily damaged Oct. 12, 2000, in the Yemeni port of Aden by al-Qaida suicide bombers.
The terrorists’ explosive charges aboard a boat that pulled alongside the Cole blew a hole about 40 feet in diameter in the port side of the ship in the area of the dining facilities, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others.
Speaking of the Navy
Platypus Marine, the full-service shipyard, steel-boat manufacturer and yacht-repair facility on Port Angeles’ Marine Drive, has Navy barge YC1090 stowed on the hard.
I understand the barge will be sandblasted, primed and painted — including the interior compartments — before it is returned to service in Bremerton.
Platypus also has Navy barge YFN1217, which will receive similar treatment.
Both of the barges will be at Platypus for about six weeks.
Platypus has a 33-foot Navy SAFE Boat in the Commander Building that is powered by three 300- horsepower Mercury outboard motors.
The vessel is used for security patrols at the Kitsap Bangor base. Personnel are replacing the nonskid on the deck.
Moving on to the Coast Guard, Platypus has been working on Barracuda since early April.
She is one of two 87-foot patrol boats attached to Coast Guard Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay near Eureka, Calif.
Contractors recently performed an ultrasound of the hull to identify areas of concern that will undoubtedly require replacement of some hull plating while the patrol boat is in Platypus’ Commander Building.
Safety gear woes
On Wednesday, while on patrol in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the crew of the 87-foot Coast Guard patrol boat Sea Lion based in Bellingham terminated the voyage of a fishing vessel for safety gear concerns found during an at-sea boarding.
The three-member crew harvesting geoducks aboard the 28-foot vessel Enforcer was escorted to Port Angeles, where the vessel was ordered to remain until the crew fixed the especially hazardous safety condition of lacking personal flotation devices.
“I can’t stress enough the importance of carrying enough life jackets with you for everyone aboard the vessel, and this is a mandatory requirement on all commercial vessels,” said Eric Cookson, a civilian command duty officer for Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
Passing a Coast Guard fishing vessel examination will become mandatory Oct. 15. Any fishing vessel crew operating beyond 3 miles off shore will need to have completed a safety examination and receive a commercial fishing vessel safety decal to be displayed on the vessel.
Fishing vessel crews are encouraged to start scheduling their examinations now.
For inspections locally, contact Robert Cuddeback at 206-217-6187.
Squadron to meet
The North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron will hear all about the great Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding of Port Hadlock when the squadron hold its monthly meeting Monday, May 11 at the Cedars at Dungeness, 1965 Woodcock Road, Sequim.
The speaker will be Betsy Davis, the boat-building school’s executive director, who will give a presentation on the 32-year-old institution on the Lower Hadlock waterfront.
Social hour starts at 5 p.m., a business meeting begins at 6 and dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.
RSVPs are required by this Wednesday and can be made by calling 360-457-1082. Everyone — not just squadron members — is welcome.
Those who just want to hear from Betsy can arrive late — it’s OK, a squadron official said.
Port Angeles Harbor watch
In addition to fueling up Blue Marlin on Monday, Tesoro Petroleum on Wednesday bunkered Brian S., the tug that is used to push Tesoro’s refueling barge around the harbor.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts and boat yards.
Items and questions involving boating, marina and industrial activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
