MV Blue Marlin
 Blue Marlin carrying USS Cole. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Blue Marlin |
| Owner: |
 Dockwise Limited |
| Operator: |
Dockwise Limited |
| Port of registry: |
|
| Builder: | CSBC Corporation (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) |
| Laid down: | 8 April 1999 |
| Launched: | 23 December 1999 |
| Completed: | 25 April 2000 |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | Operational |
| Notes: | [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | A1 General Cargo Carrier E0 DK(+) PWDK TMON |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 224.8 m (738 ft) |
| Beam: | 63.1 m (207 ft) |
| Draught: | 13.3 m (44 ft) |
| Notes: | [1] |
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Blue Marlin is a semi-submersible heavy lift ship from Dockwise Shipping of the Netherlands. Designed to transport very large semi-submersible drilling rigs above the transport ship's deck, it is equipped with 38 cabins to accommodate 60 people, a workout room, sauna and swimming facilities. Blue Marlin and her sister ship MV Black Marlin comprise the Marlin class of heavy lift ship.
History
Blue Marlin and her sister ship were owned by Offshore Heavy Transport of Oslo, Norway, from their construction, in April 2000 and November 1999 respectively, until 6 July 2001, when they were purchased by Dockwise. The U.S. Navy hired Blue Marlin from Offshore Heavy Transport to move the destroyer USS Cole back to the United States after the warship was damaged by Al-Qaeda[2][3] suicide bombers while anchored in the port of Aden, Yemen. During the latter part of 2003, work done on Blue Marlin boosted its capacity and added two retractable propulsors to improve maneuverability. The ship re-entered service in January 2004. Following these improvements, Blue Marlin delivered the oil platform Thunder Horse PDQ, weighing 60,000 tons, to Corpus Christi, Texas, for completion.
In July 2005 Blue Marlin moved the gas refinery Snøhvit from its construction site in Cádiz to Hammerfest, an 11-day trip.[4] This transport was filmed for the TV show Extreme Engineering on the Discovery Channel, and also the TV show Mega Movers on the History Channel.
In November 2005, Blue Marlin left Corpus Christi, Texas, USA to move the massive Sea-based X-band Radar to Adak, Alaska, USA via the southern tip of South America and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It arrived at Pearl Harbor on 9 January 2006, having travelled 15,000 miles. In January 2007, the Blue Marlin was employed to move two jack-up rigs, the Rowan Gorilla VI and the GlobalSantaFe Galaxy II, from Halifax Harbour to the North Sea.
On 16 June 2012, the ship arrived in Ferrol Harbour in preparation for transporting the amphibious warship HMAS Canberra to Melbourne, Australia.[5] The incomplete Australian ship was lifted onto Blue Marlin on 4 August 2012 and was scheduled to sail on 12 August, bound for Australia BAE Systems shipyard in Williamstown.[6][7] The ship passed the Port Phillip Heads marking its arrival in Melbourne on 17 October 2012.[8]
Specifications
| Specification | Initial |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 217 m (712 ft) |
| Length PP | 206.5 m (677 ft) |
| Breadth moulded | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Depth moulded | 13.3 m (44 ft) |
| Summer draft | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Deadweight | 56,000 t (55,000 long tons; 62,000 short tons) |
| Submerged depth above deck | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Free deck length | 178.2 or 157.2 m (585 or 516 ft) |
| Free deck area | > 7,215 m2 (77,660 sq ft) |
| Main engine output | 12,640 kW (16,950 hp) |
| Bow thruster | 2,000 kW (2,700 hp) |
| Cruise speed | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
| Cruise range | 25,000 nautical miles (46,000 km; 29,000 mi) |
| Accommodation | 55 people |
| Building yard | CSBC, Kaohsiung |
Post-2004
- Depth: 13.3 m (44 ft)
- Max sailing draft: 10 m (33 ft)
- Max draft submerged: 29.3 m (96 ft)
- Water above deck submerged
- aft 16 m (52 ft)
- forward 12 m (39 ft)
- Deck space: 63 m × 178.2 m (207 ft × 585 ft)
- Deck area: 11,227 m2 (120,850 sq ft)
- Propulsor output: 4,500 kW (6,035 hp) each
- Conversion yard: Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Ulsan, South Korea
See also
References
- 1 2 "Blue Marlin (20651)". DNV GL Vessel Register. Det Norske Veritas. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ↑ "Attack on the USS Cole: The Bin Laden connection". al-bab.com.
- ↑ Brian Whitaker (15 October 2001). "Piecing together the terrorist jigsaw". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ↑ Nina Berglund (11 July 2005). "'Snow White' gets her heart". Aftenposten. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ↑ "El "Blue Marlin" permanece desde ayer atracado en Navantia Fene". diario de Ferrol (in Spanish). 17 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ "Navantia efectúa con éxito el ´encaje´ del ´Canberra´". Laopinióncoruña (in Spanish). 4 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ "El "Blue Marlin" zarpará en 7 días hacia Australia". La voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 6 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ "Orange giant Blue Marlin floats into Port Phillip Bay". 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to MV Blue Marlin. |
- Professional photographs from shipspotting.com
- RIGZONE article about towing the Thunder Horse PDQ oil platform