GSF Explorer
63,000 tons fully loaded
188.7 m
35.3 meters
10.7 meters
180
13,200 shaft horsepower diesel- electric, 2 propellers, 5 thruster
10.8 knots
The Hughes Glomar Explorer ( in the United States Navy USNS Glomar Explorer (T -AG -193 ), currently in the GlobalSantaFe Corporation GSF Explorer) is a ship in 1972 by the United States for the recovery of a submarine wrecks from 5000 meters depth was built.
After the operation, the ship was mothballed until 1997, almost exclusively in the reserve fleet of the U.S. Navy, but was then leased to Global SantaFe and converted to deepwater drillship.
History
After the Soviet submarine K -129 was sunk in 1968, the United States Navy, the wreck took place about 1,500 miles northwest of Hawaii at a depth of around 5,000 meters; the Soviet Navy, however, did not know the place of doom. The Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) could then build a special ship that was to recover the wreck secret. The operation was baptized Azorian project. In order not to compromise the confidentiality, Howard Hughes was asked to leave build the ship; Supposedly it should ores, in particular manganese nodules that break from the seabed. The costs are said to have stood at around 350 million U.S. dollars.
Shipyard for the Glomar Explorer was Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock in Chester, Pennsylvania. On November 9, 1972, the ship was launched, after test drives the Glomar Explorer left the shipyard in April 1973, but without the secret equipment for submarine rescue. This was installed in Long Beach, California at the end of 1973. To bring the gripper arm on board, extra was a abtauchbare barge that develops Hughes Mining Barge. The Glomar Explorer maneuvered over them and took them through the hatch in the hull on the gripper arm. In June 1974, the journey began at the site of the sinking submarine. In July and August the Glomar Explorer was able only to recover the Bugsegment of K -129, which broke off from the trunk during the lifting process.
In 1975, only the Los Angeles Times, and weeks later, Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh, however, had revealed the true purpose of the Glomar Explorer in The New York Times, the U.S. government had no more use for the ship. The General Services Administration tried unsuccessfully to lease it, but found no lessee. 1977 was therefore mothballed. Between 1978 and 1980, the Glomar Explorer was actually used to try to undersea mining of ore, but then mothballed again.
In 1997, the Glomar Explorer was leased for 30 years at Global Marine Drilling, which was to equip the ship in 1998 at Atlantic Marine for Tiefseebohrschiff. For, now called GlobalSantaFe Corporation company the ship sails as GSF Explorer; to 2012, she worked for Marathon Oil Indonesia before traveling.
Technology
The Glomar Explorer is 188 meters long and 35.3 meters wide. They displaced fully loaded 63,000 tons standard. Her appearance is dominated by the amidships 80 feet above the keel outstanding " rig " and the two smaller lattice towers in front and behind. Invisible the hatch is the bottom of the hull of the ship. There, the gripping arm has been stored during the drive. This gripper could be lowered through the hatch. About the derrick boom were threaded, who held the gripper arm into position under the ship; the two lattice towers were lowered and accept the gripper arm from the lowered HMB and pull on board. All this was mounted on a platform that was able to offset any swell and always keep the towers perpendicular to the water surface.
The Glomar Explorer was powered by a diesel-electric drive consisting of six diesel engines and five electric motors with an output of 13,200 shaft horsepower on two shafts. So the ship reached speeds up to 10.8 knots. For the recovery of a computer system has been installed that is able to keep the ship exactly over -exposed on the seabed sonar transponders. But could the computer on five thruster ( three at the bow, two at the rear ) to fall back.