Blue Marlin
and her
sister ship
MV?
Black Marlin
compose the
Marlin
class of
semisubmersible heavy-lift ships
operated by
Dockwise Shipping
of the Netherlands. Designed to transport very large, semisubmersible
drilling rigs
above the transport ship's deck, she is equipped with 38 cabins to accommodate 60 people, a workout room, sauna and swimming facilities, and a secure citadel for protection against pirate attacks.
|
History
|
Name
| Blue Marlin
|
Owner
| Dockwise Limited
|
Operator
| Dockwise Limited
|
Port of registry
| |
Builder
| CSBC Corporation
,
Kaohsiung
,
Taiwan
|
Laid down
| 8 April 1999
|
Launched
| 23 December 1999
|
Completed
| 25 April 2000
|
Identification
| |
Status
| in active service
|
Notes
| [1]
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| A1 General Cargo Carrier E0 DK(+) PWDK TMON
|
Tonnage
| |
Length
| 224.8?m (737?ft 6?in)
|
Beam
| 63.1?m (207?ft 0?in)
|
Draught
| 13.3?m (43?ft 8?in)
|
Depth
| 13.3?m (44?ft)
|
Decks
| 11,227?m
2
(120,850?sq?ft)
|
Propulsion
| |
Speed
| 14.5 knots (26.9?km/h; 16.7?mph) cruising
|
Range
| 25,000 nautical miles (46,000?km; 29,000?mi)
|
Crew
| 55 people
|
Notes
| [1]
|
Blue Marlin
and her sister ship were owned by
Offshore Heavy Transport
of
Oslo
, Norway, from their construction, in April 2000 and November 1999, respectively, until 6 July 2001, when they were purchased by Dockwise. The
U.S. Navy
hired
Blue Marlin
from Offshore Heavy Transport to move the destroyer
USS?
Cole
back to the United States after the
warship was damaged
by
Al-Qaeda
[2]
[3]
suicide bombers while anchored in the port of
Aden
,
Yemen
. During the latter part of 2003, work done on
Blue Marlin
boosted her capacity and added two retractable
propulsors
to improve maneuverability. The ship re-entered service in January 2004. Following these improvements,
Blue Marlin
delivered the oil platform
Thunder Horse PDQ
, weighing 60,000 tons, to
Corpus Christi, Texas
, for completion.
Blue Marlin
preparing to offload Ocean Monarch
In July 2005
Blue Marlin
moved the
gas refinery
Snøhvit from its construction site in
Cadiz
to
Hammerfest
, an 11-day trip.
[4]
This transport was filmed for the TV show
Extreme Engineering
on the
Discovery Channel
, and also the TV show
Mega Movers
on the
History Channel
.
[
citation needed
]
In November 2005,
Blue Marlin
left Corpus Christi to move the massive
sea-based X-band Radar
to
Adak
,
Alaska
, via the southern tip of South America and
Pearl Harbor
,
Hawaii
. It arrived at Pearl Harbor on 9 January 2006, having travelled 15,000 miles. In January 2007, the
Blue Marlin
was employed to move two
jackup rigs
, the
Rowan Gorilla VI
and the
GlobalSantaFe
Galaxy II
, from
Halifax Harbour
to the
North Sea
.
On 16 June 2012, the ship arrived in
Ferrol Harbour
in preparation for transporting the incomplete amphibious warship
HMAS?
Canberra
to
Melbourne
.
[5]
The Australian ship was lifted onto
Blue Marlin
on 4 August 2012 and was scheduled to sail on 12 August, bound for Australia BAE Systems shipyard in
Williamstown
.
[6]
[7]
The ship passed the
Port Phillip Heads
and arrived at Melbourne on 17 October 2012.
[8]
On 5 May 2019,
Blue Marlin
was briefly hijacked off the coast of
Equatorial Guinea
. The crew took shelter in the ship's
citadel
, while pirates shot up the
bridge
in frustration. The pirates fled before the arrival of the Equatorial Guinean frigate
Wele Nzas
and Spanish patrol boat
Serviola
.
[9]
[10]
- Max sailing draft: 10?m (33?ft)
- Max draft submerged: 29.3?m (96?ft)
- Water above deck submerged
- aft 16?m (52?ft)
- forward 12?m (39?ft)
- Propulsor output: 4,500?kW (6,035?hp) each
- Conversion yard:
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard
,
Ulsan
, South Korea