Ernest Rodrigue
April 16, 2007
Antoinette Rodrigue
April 18, 2007
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., of Lockport, completed conversions and modifications to three separate dive support vessels for EPIC Divers & Marine, the company announced this week.
EPIC is a Harvey-based commercial diving company with over 35 years of service in the marine community.
“Bollinger took on these projects under severe industry conditions and at the end of the day delivered us three quality support vessels”, said EPIC president Julie Rodriguez in a news release.
The first of the three conversions was completed on the 220-foot by 45-foot by 21-foot dynamically positioned (DP) Class II Dive and ROV support vessel EPIC Diver at the Bollinger Algiers location, according to the release. The EPIC Diver is one of the newest acquisitions to the EPIC fleet and will be their primary DP and ROV support vessel. While at Bollinger the vessel renewed her regulatory status and documentation, received DP system upgrades with the installation of the L3 Communications (Nautronix) NMS 6000 Duplex DP System, while taking on the new colors and name EPIC Diver. The vessel is ABS Certified, DPII, and SOLAS, the company noted.
The second and third vessel upgrades both came out of Bollinger’s Larose facility, according to the release. The EPIC Explorer was delivered from the Larose facility after going through a full conversion from offshore supply vessel to a four-point, 1,000-foot saturation dive support vessel, with upgraded accommodations for 48 people, newly installed 1,000-foot, six-person Saturation Dive system and associated dive support equipment, EBI 30 ton telescoping deck crane, 10nfoot diameter Moon Pool, updated electrical components, and renewed regulatory compliance meeting all USCG inspection criteria for subchapter I certification.
The vessel measures 210 feet by 40 feet by 14 feet with over 1,600 feet of clear deck space, the release said.
The third vessel, the EPIC Seahorse, completed a life extension program renewing all regulatory requirements and reconfiguring the vessel for optimum use of the back deck area, repositioning dive support equipment below deck. The vessel measures 210 feet by 40 feet by 14 feet and is capable of providing a full range of subsea project support as a four-point vessel.
“The coordination between the EPIC and Bollinger project teams, along with the dedicated craftsmen at each of the two Bollinger facilities proved to be the leading factor in the success of these three programs,” said Ben Bordelon, executive vice president of Bollinger Shipyards. “EPIC’s confidence to team with us for all three projects was a significant boost and motivator for the two facility managers and their project teams.”
