The Tie Down.
Created | Updated Oct 14, 2004
As I mentioned earlier the jacket section of an oil rig is the large part that sits from the sea bed to the surface, where the top sides are built on top of it. This is usually done by the construction of a LRS, (load restraining structure). All of this section is in what we call the Splash Zone, the area between the surface of the sea and the modules above the LRS. This area is always shot blasted and painted to protect it from the elements. The rest of the jacket which remains under the water is fitted with Anodes; these attract all the barnacles and the like to protect the structure form the wear and tear below the surface.
Some of these jackets were really large, one in fact that I worked on was so large, that even laying on its side, the high end which was at the bottom, was higher than the houses of parliament. It took us twenty minutes to walk the length of it on the scaffolding that went along the top of the jacket. There was two lifts which took us to the top, with several stops along the way. In fact on one occasion I was heading for the top in one lift, while a large section was being lifted into position. The rigging supervisor who was in charge of this lift took a heart attack on the job and died!
While the lift which was taking his body down was stopped half way in order to hand the dead mans radio over to his replacement, who was heading up on the other lift, to take over the job.
I suppose this may have seemed callous to some, but it just showed the importance of the dead line we had to complete these structures. This was due to the short weather window they had off shore to sink these structures into position.
The last part of the construction was always what we called the tie down. This was where the jacket was slid onto a barge tied along side, by means of Teflon coated sheeting on the skids, which was also greased to aid the hydraulics. The whole process could take up to three days just to get it on to the barge, then and only then could the actual tie down commence. This type of work was not suitable for all the welders, as the rods we used (called Gravimax) were actually supposed to be used in ship building where the force of the arc actually pushed the rod along on a wheeled jig, to weld the seams of a deck. They also required the full power of an electric welding machine to burn them. It was quite common to burn these machines out during a tie down, so the old diesel generator types were brought along side to power the welders as well as give lighting, so we could work all night.
Now the deck of the barge was not what you could call flat? So they used to pack the gaps between the braces and the decks with steel plates called packers. These were just sheets of steel that were welded on top of each other, as they were made smaller every layer until the filled the gap, which could be up to three inches. The deck of the barge was always covered in hydraulic liquid and grease, along with pools of diesel and water, where we used to cool off the hot welding tongs, which used to heat up very quickly due to machine being on full power for so long. It took around two minutes to burn of these Gravimax rods, so after you had burnt a few the tongs used to get so hot that you could not hold them any more, not even with our gloves on!
It was messy noisy job, and not all the welders could do it, we had to wear wet suits due to the deck being so messy. The fumes that came off from welding through all this dirt and paint, used to catch the back of our throats, so we wore masks, usually just a rag tied round our mouths, but it did the job.
Due to the fact that the barge had to sail on a certain tide, we used to work around the clock in order to complete the tie down on time. It was quite common for us to be asked to work a Darker; this meant a twenty four hour shift, with a twelve hour break, then back to work. Like I said earlier this was not every welders ideal job, so the incentive of the overtime was used, but even then we could still be shorthanded.
The noise and the fumes form the diesel generators did not help much either, as they were either on the deck with us, or close by on the shore. This was due to the shortage of cables, as we used to burn a lot of them out as well with using these machines on full power. It also made the job of the fillers who kept the machines running easier, as they had to carry the fuel containers to the generators.
It was always a hectic time during a tie down, where there would be a lot of men crammed onto the barge deck, all trying to complete the job in time. It was noisy and smelly, between the diesel fumes along with the welding fumes you couldnt even taste a cigarette so there was no point in stopping for one. Besides your hands were always wet, and the chance of an electric shock, well that just came with the job!
In the end however when all the gear was taken off the barge, and piled up in a smoking heap on the jetty, and you could see the majestic monster lying on its side ready to go, it was a sight to see. A feeling of achievement would waft over you as you saw it being towed away out to sea, after all you had just spent the last couple of years making that monster, and saw it grow form its small beginnings to its completion. Let alone the tie down, which was always the worst part of the job? But when you turned round you could see this vast empty area where the giant once stood, blocking out the daylight. Well its time to clear up, and get ready for the next one, mind you I am not looking forward to the tie down!
