D EPARTMENTS D RILLING AHEAD Hughes Glomar Explorer a mark of world-class engineering history Linda Hsieh, Associate Editor the “claw” and load during the transition from dynamic open water conditions to THIRTY-FIVE YEARS ago, at the height the shelter of the ship’s center well. of the Cold War, the US government drew a plan to retrieve part of a sunken Soviet A COVERT MISSION submarine from the Pacific Ocean. And to realize that plan, the government To hide the ship’s real mission, a story turned to the drilling industry. was concocted that billionaire Howard Hughes built it for deep sea mining. It Specifically, the Central Intelligence was a great cover-up, Mr Crooke said. Agency turned to Global Marine in “Who knew what a mining ship really Houston. CIA agents showed up at the looked like? It could look like whatever company in November 1969 and asked we wanted it to look like!” it to do what, at the time, seemed an impossible task: lift a 2,000-ton asym- T he Explorer was completed in July 1973 metrical object from about 17,000 ft of at a cost of more than $200 million, and water. the salvage mission commenced a year later in July 1974, taking just 5 weeks to But Curtis Crooke, then Global Marine’s complete . vice president of engineering , believed the task was possible, and so the com- In 1996, Global Marine leased the ves- pany was recruited into a government sel and converted it into a deepwater “black” program – completely classified drillship. It is now capable of drilling in – and built the Hughes Glomar Explorer . water depths up to 7,800 ft and is operat- ing in the Gulf of Mexico. T he secret sub-retrieving mission – now known as The Jennifer Project Before 1996, however, the ship stayed – demanded that the Explorer use out of service for many years post-The designs well beyond the state-of-the-art . Jennifer Project, and Mr Crooke said The design and capabilities created are that even to this day, there are things still used today for deep offshore drill- he’s not allowed to discuss. ing . Some of the major innovations used “But I can tell you that The Jennifer included: Project was never the name of the proj- • A large well opening in the hull and a ect,” he said, despite what many books means of sealing it off so the object could have claimed . be examined in dry conditions; ASME LANDMARK • A hydraulic lift system capable of hoisting a large, heavy load; The unique engineering that went into the Explorer is already well known, but • A tapered heavy lift pipe string, includ- on 20 July , it was formally recognized. ing tool joints, designed, constructed and The American Society of Mechanical proof-tested to exceptionally demanding Engineers (ASME) officially designated standards; it as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in a ceremony held at • A “claw” with mechanically articulated GlobalSantaFe’s Houston office. fingers, which used surface-supplied sea- water as a hydraulic fluid; “The Hughes Glomar Explorer is truly a world-class engineering project,” • A motion-compensated and gimbaled GlobalSantaFe chairman Robert E Rose work platform system that effectively said at the ceremony. isolated the suspended load from the roll, pitch and heavy motions of the ship; Former president of ASME Keith Thayer, who presented the plaque to • A “docking leg” system that supported GlobalSantaFe, said, “It’s wonderful to the weight and controlled the motion of make a bit of engineering history.” DDRILLINR I L L I N G CONTRACTOR September/October 2006 .