Took My Boat Out For A Rig Dive This Weekend

[outlawaggie]

Regardless of who owns the platform, its not too safe to dive around it when there are several workboats running. Better to go someplace else. Thats why no one dives actual drilling rigs(mobile units such as jack-ups,semi-submersibles). There is too much surface work activity. Its not safe.

I agree, i wouldn't dive with crew boats around etc. My point was simply that you have the right to dive the rig without any permission from the oil company.

 

[Hawkeye Mark]

Right you dont need any permission to dive a platform.

 

[Hawkeye Mark]

Here is a picture for those interested

 

[archman]

Every dive and fishing boat I have ever heard of that utilizes production platforms hooks onto them. Heck, we even did it a few times on the Fling! The only time I haven't done this is aboard an oceanographic ship that was too big... in that case the crew maintained round the clock stationkeeping.

So although you can dive waters around rigs all you want, you're still limited to the courtesy of the corporate owned platform that you must hook onto. That or carry one heck of a lot of anchor line.

 

[Captain Hardhead]

We did hook onto the Rig, but it makes you think twice because they all have a sign saying not to tie off to the Rig and to stay 100 ft away.

So maybe you could say to hook up and to tie up are two different things.

~~ HardHead

 

[outlawaggie]

We did hook onto the Rig, but it makes you think twice because they all have a sign saying not to tie off to the Rig and to stay 100 ft away.

So maybe you could say to hook up and to tie up are two different things.

~~ HardHead

That's a liability thing. By law you are not prohibited from going near or under the rig. Technically, they can prohibit you from tying or hooking onto the rig. However, I have never heard of a rig actually saying anything. They post the sign so that if a piece of pipe breaks loose and punches a giant hole in your boat :11: they can say we told you to stay away so it not our fault.

 

[archman]

They post the sign so that if a piece of pipe breaks loose and punches a giant hole in your boat :11: they can say we told you to stay away so it not our fault.

It's also to keep looters and vandalizers from messing with the unmanned platforms. It's sometimes a problem especially with the smaller inshore stations, where idiot boaters tie off and go "exploring."

 

[Hawkeye Mark]

Speaking of things falling off.

1. At one platform I saw a grate laying on one of the cross members at 50 feet or so. Must have fallen from above.

2. Company I used to work for. We had an accident where a crane was unloading at a platform in Louisiana. Platform kind of old. Crane came loose and fell in water. Operator was seriously injured but survived. Big insurance claims, big mess(I had to document the repair costs for adjuster). Dont think I would want to be under anything that fell off.

 

[wsparks]

I was with Wolf Charters out of Freeport last Sunday and we dove the A-19, it was a nice rig with excellent visibility the 1st 60 feet or so, after that the murk layer began. Of course most of the big fish were staying below 100+ feet.