tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5876214674823177618.post7688432686678050786..comments2023-12-21T23:14:14.347-06:00Comments on NOLA-dishu: Engineering Disasters: The Demise of the Ocean RangerClayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11905149250548893628noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5876214674823177618.post-59817851899592224852009-10-03T20:27:11.463-06:002009-10-03T20:27:11.463-06:00A dinky little porthole was the proximate cause th...A dinky little porthole was the proximate cause that doomed a huge platform. <br /><br />I think Discovery is going to have a special that will discuss the Ocean Ranger Sunday (October 4th).Clayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11905149250548893628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5876214674823177618.post-20403025954559778082009-09-30T09:29:59.170-06:002009-09-30T09:29:59.170-06:00Don't forget the failure of the ballast valve ...Don't forget the failure of the ballast valve control panel when it got wet after the porthole broke. There was a manual sea chest valve but it was a bitch to operate and although it was supposed to be greased and exercised monthly, I doubt that was done.<br /><br />We wore survival suits on the choppers. The lifeboats were outfitted per SOLAS. They had wool sweaters that were supposed to be for the engine room crew who wore light clothing. SOLAS was not really written for drilling rigs back then. <br /><br />Little known fact: the Ranger was supposed to be so stable that they had a pool table in the rec room.Peripatetic Engineerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08508035944158746797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5876214674823177618.post-68074862092553004582009-09-29T17:52:06.002-06:002009-09-29T17:52:06.002-06:00Inviting Disaster hammers the operators and operat...Inviting Disaster hammers the operators and operator training as the prime cause. They even go so far as to say the rig probably would have survived despite the chain lockers, had they just left the ballast valves locked closed.<br /><br />Unsecured hatches is supposed to be one of the prime causes of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, on the Great Lakes.<br /><br />LOTS of things changed as a result of Ocean Ranger (like Piper Alpha). A biggie is a survival suit. Did you get one when you were stationed in Alaska? <br /><br />Ocean Ranger II was the placeholder name while it was in the shipyard, according to most of the sources. It probably would have been renamed something else regardless of what happened on its predecessor.Clayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11905149250548893628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5876214674823177618.post-50133025800142690282009-09-28T07:09:42.607-06:002009-09-28T07:09:42.607-06:00I worked for ODECO back when the Ranger was built....I worked for ODECO back when the Ranger was built. I was in the shipyard in Japan and although was assigned to the Ocean Bounty, we knew the Ranger intimately. In fact, I was later a regular member of her crew during rig moves in Alaska. She had a unique chain/wire mooring system designed for what was then deep water and I was one of the few who knew how to operate it. <br /><br />One question I have always had was about the machinery room access hatch. There was a 20' x 20' hatch in the main deck to lower large items to the machinery room. It was held down by about 100 clamps. Usually nobody bothered to secure them because of the time involved in removing them when they wanted to open the hatch. If that hatch was washed off, there was a straight path for downflooding down the elevator shaft for the forward starboard column. <br /><br />You can trace several improvements in offshore safety to the Ranger disaster. A new method of launching lifeboats was one. Ballast control operator training was another. (usually, the ballast control operator was a roustabout that couldn't hack the work on deck)<br /><br />I'm not sure ODEDO ever used the name OCean Ranger II. The Odyssey may have been based on the Ranger class, but even they were not stupid enough to use the name again.Peripatetic Engineerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08508035944158746797noreply@blogger.com