Posted on 07/28/2010 5:15:25 PM PDT by penelopesire
"In the chaotic aftermath of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a poorly orchestrated effort to knock down the towering blaze may have inadvertently led to the sinking of the platform, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Center for Public Integrity and shared with ABC News.
As part of an ongoing government investigation, Coast Guard officials are trying to reconstruct the initial response to the rig explosion that unleashed one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. One concern surrounds the use of briny seawater instead of fire-retardant foam to drench the rig. The Coast Guard confirmed that Capt. Hung M. Nguyen, who is heading the investigation, is examining whether the decision to spray salt water across the burning platform overwhelmed the ballasts that kept the rig afloat, changing its weight distribution and causing it to list, and then sink."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Or it could have been the original explosion of oil and gas the ruptured the floats. A sudden shock wave from an explosion, and the evacuation of water from under the float, then water crashing back in to replace the water displaced.
They design some torpedoes to detonate below a ship, never touching it, because the shock wave and water displacement breaks the keel of the ship.
I’d still like to know why the Coast Guard rig fire response manual was changed 7 months before the explosion. The article read like this was a new directive(for the CG not to fight the fires themselves). If this was something new,it would appear that someone did this without enough planning for such a shift in response,command and control...leaving a leadership and response vacuum during a real time event. Just a thought.
This floating drilling unit has pontoons and columns that, when flooded with seawater, cause the pontoons to submerge to a predetermined depth. It sits low with a large part of its structure under water. Those pontoons are departmentalized , it is not one large pontoon.
If you notice from that pic they are connected to each other, this allows listing to be corrected. All floating rigs can be manually controled, they dont need electricity. If you look at the pic, those grates you see can very well be under water, they often sink it lower in bad weather even to point those grates may be submerged, it lowers its profile and gale force winds have less impact on low structures.
Last the area directly above the grates is a redundant pontoon, it can not be filled with water by the control system or manually. Those four redundant pontoons are capable of keeping the rig on the surface even if the main pontoons are completely filled. Also those pontoons can not be flooded with fire hoses. Damaged in the explosion? highly unlikely if consider those primary pontoons were 60 to 130 feet under water, that much water makes a very good ballistic barrier to flying debri.
The fire fighters action played no role in the rig sinking, no amount of water dumped on it would have any noticible effect.
Seems more likely they are looking for an escape goat to point at. I dont know why it sank, but an explosion damaging it to the point it sank is highly unlikely. Automated fire systems are independant of the electrical grid, they have battery and in most cases pheumatic safe guards that in an emergency close ballast ports. Unless those systems were disabled, and that would have to be done on purpose I see no way it could sink.
I’m not one to yell government did it on purpose but I see no other viable option than to think it was sank and not from an explosion.
So the spill IS Obama’s fault!! Now, we have an obligation to pay back BP for their generous outlays.
BP is liable for the spill..period. Obama and his administration are partly liable for the unmitigated disaster and response imho. Obama is also responsible for the moratorium that is killing jobs. Of course...Obama will pay for nothing..he will rob us all blind to pay up. Our government is suppose to be sitting on an Oil Spill Trust Fund paid for by the oil companies for decades. I’d like to know where that money is and see a full accounting of it.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The CORRECT answer is for a 2nd Constitutional Convention to be held...we only need 1 or 2 more states to agree...and for that august body to then DISSOLVE the United States of America! With that dead carcass out of the way, the delegates could then form a NEW government, one that is of, by, and for the PEOPLE!
LOL -
I wrote my post #35, and didn’t look back at the thread. Just saw your post #34 and #41. I realized as soon as I saw your excellent observations that my early post with absolutes needed to be modified.
You need to modify your thinking a bit too, it seems. The reason that underwater explosives’ shock damage (mines, torpedoes, etc.) are so powerfully destructive is the almost incompressible nature of water. The shock of the explosion is very efficiently transmitted with little attenuation. The explosions on the Deepwater Horizon platform due to the methane, etc., would not have much effect on the pontoons and other underwater structures as the shock would have been transmitted through air and damped by the water surrounding the structures. (The effects of evacuation of the water by the explosion is a separate issue and clearly not applicable to DH.)
It seems that the major fault here that was not addressed (in addition to over-flooding of the deck of DH) is the failure to make attempts to power up the bilge pumps in the pontoons and other flotation areas with some type of auxiliary power.
Happens to the best of us.
You need to modify your thinking a bit too, it seems.
Why can't I be like everyone else and just stubbornly cling to the concept that I know more than everyone else in the world? Then I wouldn't have to change anything.
I did discuss the possibility that the explosion and fire from the well itself damaged the pontoons, but it is not very likely, so I agree with you there.
HOWEVER, what I said first is the the fires and explosions from the small engine equipment and the fuel containers for those engines/generators were initially suspected of having damaged the pontoons. IIRC, the BP staff was completely aware that ONE of the Pontoons had sustained damage, and was filling with water, right after the initial blowout. They have monitors which tell them what the water level is inside the pontoon. Plus, the whole rig tilting every so slowly sideways, like the leaning tower of PISA, was a dead giveaway.
It seems that the major fault here that was not addressed (in addition to over-flooding of the deck of DH)
I have posted the pictures of the rig. Everything I can gather about the rig tells me this. It is impossible to OVER-FLOOD the DECK of the rig. The water just runs off the rig. There is nothing to 'keep' the water 'in place'. This rig is designed to be left out in the middle of the ocean during intense thunderstorms, heavy rain, and hurricanes. It could rain for 40 days and 40 nights on the rig, and it wouldn't 'hold' the water. The ONLY THINGS that can RETAIN water are the PONTOONS, and they are 'sealed' off so water from ABOVE or BELOW doesn't get in (although they leak a little. Every waterborne craft leaks slightly. That's why someone invented the bilge pump.).
The ONLY way the rig can sink is by the pontoons filling with water. The only way that happens is that they suffer some physical damage and start letting water in (maybe from above and below).
.... is the failure to make attempts to power up the bilge pumps in the pontoons and other flotation areas with some type of auxiliary power.
We do not know whether the bilge pump or pumps were even working after the original explosion and fire. It seems like one of them might have be operating, but the one in the other pontoon appeared NOT to be working. Again, the tilting the rig indicated a 'leak' and a pump failure.
Since it has been sitting almost a mile under the water, no one knows for SURE yet what happened to the pump, and to the pontoon.
Your idea 'sounds' good, but unless you are SUPERMAN, I don't think you have a chance at walking onto a RIG, which is ON FIRE, and carrying some cables, or a remote power generator , climbing down to the pontoon and gaining access to the inside (everything is on fire). Then you would have to hold your breath for 30 minutes or so while you swam, in the dark, under water, to hook up some electrical cables.
So, you would need to be 'shock-proof' as well as being able to hold your breath indefinitely.
But, yeah.... other than those minor details, it might have worked.
I know BP would have done anything to save the rig. Since they didn't do as you suggested, I would say they don't have SUPERMAN on their employment roster.
I have enjoyed the banter with you about this.
I’m somewhat mystified myself as to how DH could be flooded sufficiently, but it has been mentioned by analysts who know much more than I do about the rig. You say that is not possible. {{shrug}}
As far as any type of superman type activity, I would contemplate instead some rapid blueprint examination and attempt to run auxiliary power to the bilge pumps from another ship. Running through flames doesn’t seem very promising, but diving in the water under the rig may have been more possible. A ROV? Questions I would first examine is how difficult it is to get to the wiring leading to the bilge pumps... is there a junction box handy subsurface? If not, is wiring located and fastened in a manner that they can be located, drilled toward, and spliced into. Perhaps instead a new bilge pump could be inserted. Perhaps it may be possible instead to drill and place a plug in the pontoons that could be pumped on by one of the CG fire vessels or other pumping vessel. Perhaps attempting such would result in the disaster of DH sinking, though...
Anyway, I was not thinking anything about superman or a super fire walker... but instead a SuperROV or SuperDiver in concert with some SuperEngineers.
Thank you. The 'banter' is what leads to learning, at least for me.
I’m somewhat mystified myself as to how DH could be flooded sufficiently, but it has been mentioned by analysts who know much more than I do about the rig. You say that is not possible.
I see I need to clarify. I am not saying the RIG could NEVER sink. I am saying that without damage to the pontoons, water pouring on it from above will NEVER cause it to sink.
Have you ever ridden on, or owned a PONTOON BOAT??
The TITANIC was compartmentalized, with hatches to seal off each compartment, virtually guaranteeing the ship could NEVER sink.
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