Fixed Rotor Helicopter

Various types of helicopters.

It is not economical to bring the vessel alongside(go to port) for crew change, and sometimes the operation does not allow for us to leave the field. That is why we do quite a lot of helicopter operations  for crew changes, around the world. Helicopter flights can vary from one to two hours, shore to ship or ship to shore (one way).I have encountered  a few "choppers" over the last 6 years. Here's a few cought on camera. I am not very fond of them, but it is part of the job and I have to "bite the bullet".
We get a proper, Helicopter Underwater Escape Training(HUET) done every 3,5 year. That rather reminds me about the incredibly "bad situation" I expose myself to on a regular basis, instead of giving me some kind of comfort in, finding myself being able to get out of a submerged, water filled helicopter, after being hung, upside down, strapped in my seatbelt. Sorry but that's just the way I feel.

Here's a short film clip, showing an EC155 landing on two ocasions. It looks like she's got a "fixed" " rotor, it is just not turning. Pretty amazing. Skilled pilots flying on pure will, not using the engines 
ha ha.

Clip from Nigeria 

Haer ae ett kort filmklipp paa en EC155 som landar vid tvaa tillfaellen. Det ser ut som om den har en "fast rotor", den roer sig inte, ser haeftigt ut. Piloter som flyger paa bara viljan utan att anvaenda motorer, kul kul .


Olika typer av helikoptrar.
det aer oekonomiskt att ta fartyget till kaj foer besaettningsbyte, och ibland saa tillaater inte operationen att vi laemnar faeltet. Det aer anledningen till att vi goer en hel del helikopteroperationer foer  besaettnings byten, runt om i vaerlden. En helikopterresa kan variera emellan en till tvaa timmar, fraan land till fartyget eller vice versa(en vaeg). Jag har stoett paa en del helikoptrar under de senaste 6 aaren, haer aer naagra av dom som jag tagit bilder av. Jag aer inte saa glad i att flyga helikopter, men det aer ju en del av jobbet saa det aer bara att bita ihop.
Vi faar en ordentlig Helikopter Undervattnet Evakuerings Traening(HUET) vart 3,5:e aar. Men det snarare paaminner mig om vilken otroligt "taskig situation" jag utsaetter mig foer. I motsats till att bringa naagon sorts trygghet i att klara att ta sig ur en sjunken, vattenfylld helikopter, efter att ha varit haengande upp och ner i saekerhetsbaeltet. Det aer tyvaerr saa som jag kaenner det.

Sikorsky (S76c) Brazil  

Sikorsky (S92) Nigeria 

 Crew change on adjacent drillship (S92)

 (S76c) Brazil

 (S92) Landing Nigeria FPSO

 Crew change Harrier Explorer, Sikorsky (S61) Namibia

(SA365)Dauphin 2 India 

(SA365)Dauphin 2 India  

 Helideck by night

 (S92) The off shore "work horse"

 Helideck for Exercise walking and walking....

 Pop-up system test. With foam if the chopper crash

 S(92)

 (S92) Nigeria

 India SA365 Dauphin 2

 (S92) Landing on "Siem Marlin" sister to "Hugin Explorer"

Augusta Bell  (AB-412ep) Egypt

 PGS very positive seismic crew, East Med

 RAF Rescue helicopter(AB-412ep)

 Crew change Harrier Explorer (S76) Angola

 Turkish Navy (AB-212) can carry 2 Torpedos(Mk46), or 2 missiles

 Brazil(S76)

 Helideck, PM painting

 Nice

(AW-139) USA



De Grasse fend off agressors

After months of aggressions and harassment's, from a country sending its naval forces to try and sabotage our exploration, endangering the lives of civilian mariners going about our daily bread, blatantly disregarding international law. We finally saw the French frigate De Grasse coming to our assistance and chased the assailant away.

This story, the worst of a few, and very dangerous provocations  Nov 14th 2008.
In those days I was working on a different type of Seismic vessel. Harrier Explorer, Towing a long cable 10 Km long, and in addition towing the "source", air guns aft of my vessel
(See pictures below).

 "Source", 6 "Gun floats" carrying many air guns, hanging underneath.

 Streamer we were towing. Also one of many "birds"  
used for adjusting streamer (cable) depth.

 How it looked like from the stern(facing FWD)

 

 From the main mast (facing AFT) "Source"(Guns blasting away)

Wake(trail in the water) of deflectors both sides separating the floats 

And seeing (HE) from the side.

 

(Excerpts from my ships log, country and ship names XX' d out)

Vessels involved Harrier Explorer (HE), War Ship Xxxx(WS1) and War ship Xxxx(WS2).

(HE) was shooting seismic for a country, when suddenly a neighboring country
war ship turns up and informs me that I am not allowed to continue. I contacted
the local coastal radio station, who said that I was in the right, and foreign warships
were in the wrong, and so the problems started. 
After having “shadowed" us for a couple of days. interfering and demanding us to cut our operation short on occasions. One night  they started to move in, one from

each side…Starboard and Port side, The two XXXXXXX war ships, Using the
“pincer movement”, approached the (HE) with collision course.

(HE), displaying the signal "Restricted in her ability to maneuver", towing 10 km streamer
and a "source" behind the vessel, tried to establish contact with both  war ships (WS1) & (WS2), calling them by their XXXXXXX names as well as military markings of their hull, no success. (HE) gave 6 short blasts with the ships whistle, and used the search light to get their attention
but with no result. (HE) reported the situation to "local coastal radio station",  who was
standing by, and monitoring the developments.
(HE) reduced the speed, enough to still have control of the equipment, alter course was not an option, since (HE) was caught in a “tightening squeeze” between the two war ships.

The most aggressive vessel where the vessel (WS1) on the starboard side. He continued towards (HE) with a closest point of approach (CPA) 0,0 nm, which means collision, in Time CPA 7 minutes. He clearly wanted me to stop, which would have caused serious damage to all my equipment and possibly my vessel. When he was 0,3 nm of (HE) starboard bow, then (WS1) altered course to starboard, thus avoiding the collision.

Then both vessel run parallel with (HE), at a distance of half a mile(0,5 nm)for approximately 30 minutes, emitting acoustic” high pitch” sounds, trying to disturb our operation. Not succeeding since our equipment work on other frequencies, but a bit scary, and waking the crew up, since the sound penetrated the hull into cabins. Some crew called the bridge and asked what was going on?
 
15th Nov 00:14lt . both (WS1) & (WS2) moved to a position 1,5 to 2,0 nm on either side of our vessel. continued to follow us, steaming parallel with our course and continued to harass us for a couple of months.

Constantly shadowing us, occasionally, crossed our bow or came close to our equipment

Deflector 75 Mtr out from Starboard and Port quarter,
separating the "floats"with "guns", behind the vessel apart.

Ever present day and night for months...

 



After a few months of  harassment, reporters phoning and wanting comments

(which I could not give, company policy), and discussions at UN.

we suddenly got a friendly "man of war" by our side....

....Frigate De Grasse

 

Radar picture from what felt a bit like "pay back" from my end. 

Jan 28^th: 0845lt

French warship D-612 “De Grasse” , joins us and confirm our presence in  XXXXX  waters and
she will be monitoring our operations and be "standing by ” in the vicinity (which she did).

 De Grasse informs” harassing warship” to stay away minimum 8 nautical miles since De Grasse will conduct live gunnery exercise. “Harassers” move away, and De Grasse request permission to come within 2 nm on our SB side.  0900lt De Grasse launch “Balloon” with “hanging object underneath”.  After 5 minutes when Balloon reached altitude they start firing. 0930lt exercise end, quite impressive show. 

 

As stated previously, there where additional incidents,

at one time the two frigates were joined by two  F16 fighter jets

"mock attacking" us for 40 minutes. I briefly mention this event in the blog

"Border disputes" Photo's and also containing a short cell phone film clip.

http://captainniitslog.blogspot.dk/2012/04/boarder-disputes.html