Page 29: of Marine News Magazine (August 2, 2012)

VERSABAR?S HEAVY -LIFTER VB 10000 R EMOVES PLATFORMS Versabar, based in Houston and New Orleans, uses its VB 10000 for topside decommissioning, jacket removal and underwater debris removal. ?The lift vessel is rated at 7,500 tons and has lifted 4,000 tons in a single operation,? said Tom Cheatum, sales and marketing manager at Versabar. The company adopted the design from its VB 4000 or Bottom Feeder, increasing its size in response to demand. ?The VB 4000 was lifting downed platforms and retrieving equipment off the bottom of the ocean  oor after hurricanes, and the marketplace required a larger system,? he said. The VB 10000 can save time in rig removal. ?The value of the VB 10000 is it?s safer and reduces the length of offshore exposure so a client isn?t out there as long,? Cheatum said. Launched in October 2010, ?the cost to build the VB 10000 was in the 100-million-dollar range,? he said. In 2011, Versabar introduced ?The Claw,? a lifting device used with the VB 10,000 to reduce diving exposure. ?We?ve removed platforms for many major operators and many independents with the VB 10000 and the VB 4000,? Cheatum said. ?The Claw has been used on several offshore projects. The cost of removal depends on size and other factors and whether an operator has several platforms in a long campaign of work.? RESOLVE MARINE?S 1,000-TON CRANE DERRICK BARGE At Fort Lauderdale-based Resolve Marine Group, president and founder Joe Farrell said the company is equipped and staffed for decommissioning work and has done a few removals. ?We?ve got a variety of multi-task vessels and equipment that can be used for platform, pipeline removals and salvage, such as anchor handling and other ocean tugs.? he said.Farrell continued ?we have a number of heavy lift crane barges, and we?re out tting a 1,000-ton crane derrick barge.? The 300? x 100? x 20? high barge for the 1,000- ton derrick was launched last month, and an A frame should be mounted on it by the beginning of next year. Farrell said ?we have large deck barges and divers who can cut platforms and pipeline. Our company prides itself on having all necessary resources in house.? He added, ?Operationally, U.S. waters and most vessel operators are much safer today and the salvage industry here isn?t as busy as we once were. Equipment is available. Consequently, this is a good time to do removal work and the industry has become more competitive in their pricing.? TITAN S ALVAGE FOCUSES ON EMERGENCIES RATHER THAN DECOMMISSIONSFlorida-based TITAN Salvage, a subsidiary of Crowley www.marinelink.com