'Steel fortress' protects the rig

Vung Tau Commercial Port, 1pm on the last day of 2023, the sun was blazing hot. We were fidgeting, unable to sit still, our eyes looking out to sea…

“I heard the siren, is that Hai Duong 67?”, I said excitedly.

White nights

Unable to wait any longer, I eagerly ran to the location where the Hai Duong 67 would anchor when it reached shore. Still through the binoculars, the image of the man sitting at the ship's control center was unclear, but I knew that it was Captain Ngo Viet Phong, the person I was waiting for.

After 30 minutes of docking, the ship stopped. The 3-hour wait was worth it. Waiting to witness the return of the “war horse” protecting the rig. From the cabin, following the stairs, Captain Ngo Viet Phong and a few other crew members stepped down, their faces tanned.

Ignoring a few hours of planned rest, Captain Phong enthusiastically welcomed us on board.

Mine watch ships work day and night.

“The waves are rough this season, so we're glad we made it here,” Captain Phong said, pulling out chairs for us to sit down.

This return trip concludes the 30-day and night journey at sea, protecting the drilling rig at Bach Ho - Vietsovpetro field of Captain Phong and the crew of Hai Duong 67 ship. Bach Ho field is about 78 nautical miles from Vung Tau, taking nearly 12 hours to travel.

Captain Ngo Viet Phong opened his phone and showed us images of white waves, nearly 9 meters high, as if hugging the entire ship.

“A normal house is about 3-4 meters high, but the waves were nearly 9 meters high, enough to see how fierce and precarious it was,” Mr. Phong compared.

Having received the bad weather signal beforehand, the crew members remained calm when the sea began to roar and the waves were high. It was only when the waves were nearly 9 meters high, causing the ship to rock that anxiety began to set in, not because they were afraid the ship would be in danger, but because in bad weather, if the rig had problems, it would be difficult to respond immediately.

“The mine patrol ship is like a multi-purpose sentry, blocking bad guys from approaching and protecting the rig at all costs. If any abnormalities or signals needing help are detected, the mine patrol ship will immediately come to support and handle the situation,” said Captain Phong. During the storm that night, when the waves were nearly 9 meters high, Captain Phong had to control the ship to tilt in the direction of the waves to avoid being pushed suddenly.

HADUCO's "steel fortresses" are on duty to protect the rig.

Protect the rig at all costs

For the oil and gas industry, to ensure the security of operating rigs, it is necessary to have an external security force. The Hai Duong 67 ship is like a strong steel fortress, surrounding and protecting the rig, often having to suppress ships that violate maritime safety regulations. Most of the encroaching vessels are foreign ocean fishing vessels.

In the case of “easy” cases, when the mine patrol ship suppresses them, they will change direction; in the case of “difficult” cases, they often deliberately encroach, running close to the drilling rig. When the mine patrol ship signals to change direction, they refuse, and when using radio to broadcast, they also ignore it, so the mine patrol ship is forced to suppress.

In some rare cases, the intruders refused to leave, so the mine patrol boats had to use water cannons to chase them away. With a spray of 1,200 m³/h and a reach of 120 meters, the invading boats became afraid and withdrew.

The above solutions only apply to civilian vessels. As for foreign authorities’ vessels, mine patrol vessels must notify Vietnamese fisheries surveillance vessels and coast guard vessels to handle the situation.

In some urgent cases, there is no time to report, the captain must decide. The safety of human life always comes first.

“As captain, in the worst case scenario, such as when the ship is assessed to be sinking and beyond repair, I must evacuate all crew members using available life-saving means. I must do everything I can to keep the crew members alive,” said Mr. Phong.

All night "saving" the fire pan

With nearly 20 years of experience at sea, including many years as a captain operating mine-based ships, Mr. Phong has had to deal with many incidents that occurred on the rig. The lightest cases are when someone is sick, the ship will provide first aid to the officer and then take him to the helicopter to fly back to the mainland for emergency treatment. The more serious cases are technical incidents that occur on the rig.

Talking about the incidents on the rig, the memories of 8 years ago on the White Rabbit field - Vietsovpetro come back, clear in the captain's memory.

In each mine, in addition to the majority of oil, there is also a quantity of other accompanying gases. When exploited, these gases also fly up through the oil suction pipe. These gases are flammable, so because they are not used, to ensure the environment and health, all rigs are currently burned.

That day, when the White Rabbit oil field's 3-legged rig was drilling (exploiting), the oil was rising, and the torch temperature was also rising out of control. At that moment, a strong wind suddenly blew back into the rig. The heat enveloped the rig, affecting the central rig, causing the rig's automatic warning signal to be sent out.

Mine control ship uses iron cages to transport people onto the rig.

As soon as the distress signal was received, the Hai Duong 67 immediately got into position and moved the ship closer to the rig. In a rush, each person had a job: some opened the water hose valves, some set up the control system, some kept the communication center…

For wells, the torch temperature is too high, which is very dangerous and can lead to a rig fire.

“If it gets too hot, the mine patrol ship cannot support, the rig’s technical department will be forced to shut down and stop exploitation. However, each sudden stoppage will have a huge impact, because keeping a rig operating is very expensive. When a well suddenly stops, it will affect the whole chain, the whole system,” said Captain Phong.

Assessing that the incident that day was difficult to control, Captain Phong directly approached the rig. From 8pm the previous day, until 6am the next day, the temperature on the rig was controlled. For 10 hours, 24 crew members worked tirelessly to “save” the fire.

According to Captain Phong, no matter what situation they encounter, the crew of the mine patrol boat must always stay calm and not panic. Incidents do not happen too often, however, as “guards”, a state of readiness is a must.

“We are like firefighters, seeing a fire but still rushing in to do our duty. In nearly 20 years at sea, there have not been many incidents, which I am always grateful for. Which firefighter wants someone else’s house to burn down so he can go put it out?”, Mr. Phong said, pointing to his fellow crew members.

Captain Ngo Viet Phong (white shirt) and crew on Hai Duong 67.

With the function and mission of protecting the security of oil and gas projects, Hai Duong 67 ship is not only a "steel belt" to prevent encroachment, but also a living milestone affirming Vietnam's undisputed territory and exclusive economic zone.

In that far-off sea, the crew of the minesweeper not only have to face the harsh weather, but also have to keep an eye out for any strange targets that may appear to disturb them, and must be ready to respond to any incidents. However, there is no greater joy and ideal than keeping watch for the peaceful seas and for the drilling rigs that never stop burning.

Hai Duong 67 ship belongs to Hai Duong Petroleum Maritime Joint Stock Company (HADUCO), a business specializing in providing maritime services in the oil and gas industry.
HADUCO is currently one of the market leaders in deepwater services with a fleet of 50 vessels, manned by over 1,000 crew members. HADUCO has over 20 years of maritime experience in performing complex operations at sea.

Source