DB1

Gulf of Mexico | Mexico

The DB1, a 350 ft x 100 ft offshore derrick barge, sank 30 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico when adverse weather caused it to drag anchors and contact the offshore platform that the DB1 was engaged in removing. Multiple compartments were breached and the DB1 came to rest on the sea floor and on top of the platform jacket structure.

Resolve Marine was contracted to remove the wreck of the DB1 by implementing a 1-piece lift of the vessel without any need for hull sectioning. Project assets were mobilized from Resolve Marine’s salvage bases around the world including from Singapore and the United States. Key project assets included Resolve Marine’s patented heave-compensated chain puller lift system deployed from the CONQUEST MB1 1400-ton derrick barge and RMG 302 crane barge. After extensive preparations including the installation of heavy lifting rigging under the DB1, the lifting gear was connected and the DB1 was raised to the surface between the MB1 and RMG 302 with 6000 tons of lift force – an industry first! Resolve then mobilized the BOA 29, a semi-submersible barge to the offshore site to receive the DB1. On arrival, the BOA 29 submerged to the seafloor and the DB1 was winched over the top with inches of margin. The BOA 29 was then raised with the DB1 safely aboard and then towed to Brownsville, Texas, for DB1’s dismantling and recycling.