March 4 - Crowley Maritime Corporation's ocean class tugs have towed the semi-submersible floating production facility Jack/St. Malo into position in the US Gulf, while its barges have delivered topsides, tendons, piles and other equipment for the facilit
Crowley's Houston based solutions project management team completed the delivery in three stages, working in both nearshore and offshore waters.
The first phase saw the topsides skidded onto Crowley's 455 series high-deck-strength barge Julie B at the Keiwit facility dock in Corpus Christi, where they were lifted and installed onto the hull of Jack/St. Malo.
Once in place the tugs Ocean Wind and Ocean Wave pushed the production facility away from Corpus Christi and through the Texan port of Aransas into deeper waters.
During the second phase, the Ocean Wind and Ocean Sun towed the facility to its final location, alongside the contracted tugboat Harvey War Horse II, while Crowley's barges were also towed out to the project site in order to deliver the piles that serve as anchors for the platform.
In the final stage of the project, the Ocean Wind, Ocean Wave, Ocean Sky, Ocean Sun and Harvey War Horse II worked together to hold the Jack/St. Malo in its final position, and remained on site in a star formation to provide support as the spar was connected to its moorings.
Schedules to begin producing oil and natural gas later this year, the facility will have a capacity of 170,000 barrels of oil a day and will act as a hub for the 43 subsea wells, including pumps and other equipment on the sea floor.
