Sea Stories
Crew Boats In Mexico
In 2006 Tidewater operated over 50 boats out of Ciudad
de Carmen and Paraiso in the Bay of
Campeche in Mexico. A crew boat delivers passengers
and supplies
to platforms, rigs, vessels and derrick barges. The oilfield is
owned and operated by Petroleos Mexicanes, PEMEX, the national
oil company of Mexico.
Crew boats in Mexico range from 120 feet to 175 feet. Two of the ones
I commanded were 155 ft. by 35 ft. (the Mineral Tide) and 137 ft. by
30 ft. (the Jennie Tide). They typically have four engines
totaling 4400 hp to 5500 hp. The two outboard props turn
outboard in front of the rudders and the two inboard props
turn inboard. This enables you to walk the boat sidewards.
Some though not all have bow thrusters, further facilitating
control.
The pictures on this page are cropped from a full size picture which
gives a better perspective to what is being shown. To see a picture
full size, simply click on the picture and it
will appear full size in a new browser.
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The Mineral Tide is a 5500 hp crew boat with a bow thruster.
She is 155 ft. long and 50 ft. wide. She is documented as only 98
domestic gross
tons. She was my first command in Mexico.
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The Michelle Tide is on the left. This photo was taken on my first day
in the Campeche field. She is loading and backloading from one of
many jackup rigs in the area.
The Jennie Tide is on the right. She is a 4400 hp crew without bow thruster.
She was my second command in Mexico. A little more challenging
with less power and no bow thruster.
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The deck space on a crew boat is actually quite large, much larger than the
passenger seating area. Although these
are called crew boats, they are rarely used to haul crew. In 6 months
I only hauled passengers twice.
Instead they are used for moving material to, from and between
platforms and work vessels.
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These are typical of the lifts made to and from the deck. The left is a large
nitrogen tank being lifted to a platform.
The right is a jet
fuel tank being loaded to a semi submersible platform.
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Lifting lengths of pipe safely is quite a challenge as shown on the left.
If the slings come
together and the pipe slips out and becomes a projectile which can
easily penetrate a person, a deck and or the hull which would
sink the vessel. Much care is taken when these are lifted.
The right photo shows the crew hooking up a sling to the hook for the
lift.
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Good food is always valued at sea. It is traditional on Sunday
to grill steaks, sausage and chickens on the deck. What
makes it interesting is using
a paint brush to baste the food. You won't believe how good
sliced steak with avocado rolled in a tortilla is - especially
if eaten fresh off the grill outdoors.
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Mexican mariners love their seafood. The shrimp
are always great. This is a shrimping port. One or more
of the seamen used to work as a fisherman. They can walk the
docks and find all kinds of fresh seafood, including some interesting
looking crabs.
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Passengers ride on crew boats with about the same level of comfort
as coach class on an airliner in extreme turbulence. These
are from the only two passenger trips in six months.
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Two ways of transferring people from vessel to
platform or reverse are used in Mexico. One method is
a walkway or a bridge which is lowered to the stern of the crewboat.
We are not tied up! As Captain, you have to maintain the position
of the boat so the people can safely cross. Quite a
challenge in a sea state. This method is fast as the people
literally run across the bridge.
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The other method of transfer is using a personnel basket or buda as it is
called in Spanish. Transferring eight people at a time by crane takes
quite a while to move 77 passengers. Once again, the position of the boat while the
basket is on the deck is critical.
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Sometimes the boat needs to maneuvered into a really tight space.
Squeezing a basketball court sized deck
into a spot with six inches to spare on either side is quite
a challenge.
At the platforms we sometimes have to squeeze into some
tight spaces between platforms, vessels, and other objects to
position ourselves under the crane.
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We are alongside Yuum Kak Nab, a new ship being commissioned to load
oil into tankers for export worldwide.
We are upwind of a barge with mooring lines in the water.
On the right we are under a bridge positioning our stern
for a lift to a platform.
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Training is critical. You never know when a disaster will hit.
Each member of the crew needs to know exactly what to do even
in his sleep. Here crew members learn where and how to use
firefighting equipment.
On the right, crew members learn what to do in the even the boat sinks
and we have to utilize the life rafts until we are rescued. The
white cylindrical objects behind the crew contain a life raft which
blows up to
hold 20 people. We have four of them, sufficient for 80 people.
Can you imagine 80 people in 4 rafts waiting to be rescued?
Better to never have to use the inflatable rafts, but important
to know how. Note: today open toed shoes are totally forbidden
both inside the boat as well as on deck. Times have changed since 2006.
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Maintenance is a never ending battle against the salt water
of the sea and the abuse of constantly using equipment.
You never know how many
engines will quit on you while out at sea. Our mechanics
are excellent and stay very busy!
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