Bollinger to Build Another Liftboat

Success achieved by the 245-ft. class liftboat L/B Myrtle, delivered two years ago from Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La., to Montco Offshore, Inc., Golden Meadow, La., has led Montco to order another nearly identical vessel, L/B Kayd. Like its predecessor, the L/B Kayd will be built in Lockport and delivery is planned for September 2005. "When we took delivery of the L/B Myrtle,” said Lee Orgeron, president of Montco, “we hailed it as a giant leap forward in the evolution of liftboats. Now we are excited that the L/B Kayd, named after my grandson, will be the next step in that evolution. The basic difference between the two vessels will be in the cranes and their increased lifting capacity." The three cranes, all to be manufactured by Titan Industries, will include a port bow mounted primary crane with a 110 ft. lattice boom rated for 175 tons; a starboard bow telescoping auxiliary crane rated for 40 tons with a boom that extends from 50 to 70 ft., and a 70 ft. box boom crane mounted on the starboard stern rated for 25 tons allowing support vessels to offload personnel, cargo, and/or fluids without hindering other work being done by the liftboat. Equipped with 245-ft. legs, the self-propelled floating platform will have the ability to work in water depths to 180 feet with a 15-ft. air gap while lifting a total of 950 KIPS of variable load Like the L/B Myrtle, the L/B Kayd will be different from other liftboats in that it will be equipped with a bow thruster and controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater maneuverability and precision placement of the huge legs with oversized pads on the ocean bottom. Orgeron said, "The bow thruster, CP wheels and joystick controls give us the edge. With such a high degree of control over the boat, we can more effectively avoid contact with underwater piping, can-holes, and other rig infrastructure. Further, almost all liftboats use their main engines to either maneuver or operate the leg lift system while in neutral which interferes with positioning. With this boat we can maintain jacking speed and maneuvering to hold a precise position at the same time."

The L/B Kayd will be equipped with 40 ft. by 16 ft. pads to provide for greater bottom stability and greater deck loads. It will also be able to jack with a full pre-load and its pre-load system has quick acting stainless steel dump valves to discharge water faster. The boat will be 137.5-ft. long, with a 92-ft. beam and hull depth of 13-ft. Open deck will be 6,000 sq. ft. and its three legs will be 72 inches in diameter and constructed of 1.5-in. wall thickness high strength steel. Power will be supplied by two Caterpillar 3512 diesels developing a total of 3,000 bhp. They will drive Berg controllable pitch propellers through Reintjes reduction gears. Electrical power will be produced by two 190 kW generators driven by Caterpillar 3306 diesels and a 350 bhp hydraulic motor will drive the bow thruster. The Hydraquip jacking system is designed using the latest hydraulic and computer technology to accurately control the leg position. The programmable logic controller provides all jacking system logic, safety interlocks, leg position and alarm monitoring. The hydraulic system incorporates a three speed jacking system that allows leg tagging at 10 ft/min, normal jacking at 4 ft/min and preload jacking at 2 ft/min. The jacking system has counterbalance (holding) valves at each motor for pinion isolation. All jacking system pressures, system status, temperatures, alarms, and operation manual are displayed on a liquid crystal plasma touch screen.