Author: cecilachord

Seaward Marine Services completed underwater inspections and cleaning on the USS NAUTILUS (SSN-571), the first nuclear powered submarine was launched in 1954 and the first ship to reach the geographic North Pole- 90° north had an extensive and pioneering role in the groundbreaking uses of nuclear power.  NAUTILUS was decommissioned on March 3, 1980 after a 25-year career.  In April of 1986, NAUTILUS joined the Submarine Force Museum in Groton CT. as the Historic Ship NAUTILUS.

Seaward Divers used the multi-bush machine SCAMP to clean the underwater hull followed by Divers with single brush machines cleaning smaller areas then inspecting and photo documenting all underwater appendages and the overall condition of the hull.
 

Seaward Dive Crew starting work on Historic Ship NAUTILUS

Diver running SCAMP at waterline on Historic Ship NAUTILUS
 

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Divers replaced a four-foot Impress Current Cathodic Protection Anode on a Navy Ship in accordance with NAVSEA UWSHM Chap-19 “Cathodic Protection Systems”.  As a qualified contractor for the U.S. Navy, Seaward Marine Services is required to meet stringent NAVSEA Director of Ocean Engineering Supervisor of Salvage and Diving requirements.  The anode was found to be inactive and damaged during August 13 inspections and scheduled to be replaced by the SEA 00C representative, Seaward divers started repairs August 20 and completing repairs the following day.  After the initial installation and operational test by Ships Force, divers used HYCOTE 461 to replace the insulating dielectric shielding that was removed when replacing the anode. 

 

Damaged Anode

New anode installed using HYCOTE 461

 

Seaward Marine Services is invited to the 10^th annual Maritime Heritage Conference to participate in an education session by explaining the benefits of underwater ships husbandry “How Technology can Postpone or Predict Dry-docking”.  Seaward will discuss hull surveys using LampRay® that can document Hull thickness, paint thickness, hull potential, and video document the underwater hull while tracking its position in the water resulting in a comprehensive hull condition assessment with accuracy within +/- 6”.  Maintaining and repairing ships underwater hull will also be discussed including the benefits of hull cleaning, underwater painting, and Impressed Current Cathodic Protection.

The education session will also include opening words from John Elliker of Nauticus and a technical presentation of LampRay by Edwin Slate, engineering consultant of Control Solutions.
 

 

Marine Transport Lines, Inc. called in Seaward Marine Services to support the “TURBO” activation of M/V CAPE DOMINGO (T-AKR-5053).  Seaward divers mobilized from Norfolk, VA to Charleston, SC to clean the underwater hull within a 48-hour window before the 681 ft. ship was to get underway to assess the crew and ship on readiness.  Divers arrived on station mid-day Thursday August 14 and immediately deployed the equipment needed to clean the underwater hull, bow and stern thrusters, and propeller.  Divers completed all work within a 20-hour period so the ship could make its scheduled underway event mid-day Saturday.  

 

  

Pearl Harbor, HI- The USS MISSOURI Memorial Assn. tasked Seaward Marine Services Inc. to perform an underwater hull cleaning using SCAMP and hull inspection to include documentation of the 146 existing hull penetration blanking cofferdams.  Divers completed hull cleaning and inspections within a 10-day window in July using the Scamp multi-brush platform for cleaning the larger areas and smaller areas with single-brush units followed by divers completing the documentation of the hull penetration blanks.

The SCAMP multi-brush platform used to clean the 123,180 sqft of hull surface on the Museum Ship MISSOURI can clean approximately 450 ft2/min depending on the extent of fouling.

 

Seaward Marine Divers pictured left to right: Stan Wujek, JB Nielson, Ikoa Nixon, Craig Cohen, Diving Supervisor Norm Bradley, Casey Field, and Elijah Morse.

 

Museum Ship Battleship MISSOURI Hull Cleaning 7-2014 from Seaward Marine Services, Inc. on Vimeo.

Can't view the video on Vimeo?  Click here for the youtube version.

Seaward Marine Services mobilized a dive crew to Washington Navy Yard at the direction of NAVSEA Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), start hull cleaning and inspections on the Display Ship BARRY DDG-933.  Seaward Marine’s divers started hull cleaning using the SCAMP multi-brush machine on Tuesday July 8^th and completed all hull cleaning and visual inspections on July 10^th.  Seaward Marine Services NDT division mobilized on July 9^th and started underwater hull thickness, hull potential, and paint thickness readings on July 11^th 2014 using the Lamp Ray platform, a ROV used to record and track this data.

The LampRay platform uses a high precision acoustic tracing system that allows real time data display and location.  The final report is delivered in a HTML format that can be easily navigated through color coded data presentation for rapid decision making.

The SCAMP multi-brush platform can clean an area approximately 5.5 ft. at 30 ft. per minute. The Display Ship Barry a Forrest-Sherman Class destroyer is 419 ft. long with a beam of 45 ft. took approximately 5.5 hours to clean the flat hull surfaces.
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All cleaning and inspections were completed using the requirements that include UWSHM chapter 28, chapter 17, and Navy technical manual Chapter 081 as required by SUPSALV. 

Click here to view SUPSALV's writeup on this job.
 

Lamp Ray setup next to DS Barry

Lamp Ray Vehicle

Launching the Lamp Ray

Seaward Mobile Two working alongside DS Barry

Patriot Contract Services awarded Seaward Marine Services hull inspection and propeller cleaning contracts for USNS Gilliland and USNS Gordon in Baltimore MD.  Seaward divers mobilized in early July to complete work on the two Gordon-class roll-on roll-off ships.  Seaward Marine Services tasking includes cleaning and polish the propellers and bow thruster, perform underwater inspections and cleaning of all sea chests, rudders, shafting, struts, bearing housings, ICCP anodes and reference cells, and appendages according to UWSHM chapter 28 chapter 17 and Navy technical manual Chapter 81.

Upon inspection and cleaning of sea chest suctions Seaward divers completed additional tasking which included the replacement of sea chest grating fasteners.  All work was completed on time and within contract pricing.

 

Seaward Mobile Three working alongside USNS Gilliland

USNS Gilliland and USNS Gordon

In order to fulfill US Navy contract requirements Seaward Marine Services was called upon to mobilize the Flyaway diving suite.  Designed on an aircraft shipping freight container platform, Seaward personnel designed and built-out the containers to accommodate long term all weather diving operations that can be air freighted wherever needed.  The mobilization suite allows for 1300 Cu Ft of working and storage space along with the safety redundancies needed to complete shallow water diving operations.  The equipment suite along with the SCAMP multi-brush cleaning platform was shipped out in June to complete underwater services in Diego Garcia in support of Seawards US Navy contract. 
 

Mobilization suite readied for shipment to Diego Garcia

Mobilization suite conducting hull cleaning at Naval Base Jubail, Saudi Arabia

 

Crowley maritime requested Seaward Marine Services to perform an underwater hull cleaning that included using the SCAMP multi-brush platform and a propeller cleaning and polishing.  Seaward divers then completed an underwater inspection of the hull to ABS regulations.  Upon completion of diving services, Seaward Marine Services NDT division started the comprehensive hull material survey using the Lamp Ray ROV system.

LAMP RAY is a robotic scanning system that gives a complete picture of the ships underwater hull condition including hull plate thickness, paint dry film thickness, and cathodic hull potential.  The ROV’s location is tracked and all data is viewed real time allowing NDT technicians to record data in a manner that is easy to read thus giving a ships manager the ability to identify potential problems that could be planned for and addressed.

 Seaward Marine personnel mobilized to Baltimore MD and all work was completed, and reports distributed within the specified period of performance. 

 

 

Seaward Marine Services divers traveled to Aker Philadelphia Shipyard to perform an underwater hull inspection that included internal inspections of the sea gratings and surface preparation and application of HYCOTE 151 underwater paint system to hull 019, MV Liberty Bay.

Divers completed internal inspections of the main cooling sea chests along with inspection of the bow thruster, bilge keels, propeller, and rudder.  During inspection of the underwater hull, divers located then prepared bare metal areas for the application of HYCOTE 151 underwater paint a unique 2-part epoxy coating that is specifically designed to be applied in wet environments.

Seaward Marine Services has applied over 200,000 square feet of HYCOTE products; HYCOTE u/w paint expels water from between the coating and the substrate that ensures an excellent adhesion.  HYCOTE products can be applied to cathodic shielding material, heavily pitted surfaces, and splash-zone areas. 
 

Seaward Divers on station at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard

 

Seaward Marine Services completed ongoing intake improvements to the Dominion Power Surry Power Station culminating in all eight intake structures to receive new stop-log seal plate assemblies.  For each intake structure over 18 mechanics and divers along with Dominion Power employees and supplemental staff in support participated in the removal of the old seal plate and trash-rack retaining channel.  The removal and replacement required 13 shifts totaling over 2800 man-hours to complete this process.

Seaward divers installed the new seal plate assembly by core drilling and installing approved inserts with underwater adhesive compound.  Divers then completed a foreign materials sweep by cleaning the trash racks and vacuuming away all debris from the intake structures.  With support of Seaward Marine personnel, Dominion employees then lowered the intake structure stop-logs into the new stop-log guides to ensure proper fit and a positive seal.

New seal plate assembly installation 

Diver checking fit of seal plate assembly 

Divers preparing to enter water start core drilling operations

 

 

Seaward Marine Services was tasked to perform a general inspection, a Visual Inspection, a Video Inspection and an Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Survey, using DataScan^SM, of an Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) at one of the country’s largest nuclear power facilities.  The weeklong project with mobilization from Seaward Marine’s Norfolk Virginia office included entry into the 300,000 gallon AST by divers dressed in total enclosure suits to ensure no contamination of the tanks cargo.  Because of tank depth, in excess of the no decompression limits, under Seaward Safe Diver Standards divers had to change out at regular intervals ensuring diver safety.

The first order of business was to vacuum sediments from the bottom of the liquid filled tank to ensure a thorough visual and video inspection of the tanks interior surfaces. Visual inspection revealed a faulty tank level indicator system which was promptly repaired and calibration procedures performed.

Next, divers installed a reference grid system within the tank in which to perform a very accurate ultrasonic thickness survey using DataScan^SM. The ultrasonic thickness survey,  performed on a one foot by one foot grid pattern producing a nearly 100% probability of detection, collected over 530,000 individual thickness readings, several of which were below the thinning criteria established prior to the inspection.  The thickness data will be used to formulate repair or replacement estimates and on subsequent surveys to determine tank life cycle estimates.

The inspection and survey performed by American Society of Non-Destructive Testing (ASNT) certified personnel and procedures came in under schedule and under budget allowing the tank and facility to continue with uninterrupted operational scheduling. A second tank, at the same facility is scheduled for survey during the plants next outage.

Seaward Marine’s DataScan^SM Ultrasonic Measurement System provides a thorough analysis of the condition of metal in the region of the measurement, as opposed to single-point readings of metal thickness. Seaward’s development of an automated system that compensates for roughness so that all areas of the reading location can be quickly and accurately measured.
 

Seaward Marine Services was tasked to perform an general inspection, a Visual Technical Inspection (VTI) and shaft to stave bearing measurements (STSR). The period of performance was February 3-17, 2014.  Seaward personnel arrived in Everett WA with clear skies and average temperatures for that area.  During the week, a Pacific Northwest storm arrived dropping day time temperatures to 19 degrees with heavy snow flurries and water temperatures dropped to 43 degrees.  Divers continued to perform their tasks under these conditions and during the initial inspection of the running gear, damage was found on a propeller and shaft.  The propeller damage was included in a VTI report and submitted to NSWCCD for review and repair recommendations. In accordance with a NAVSEA 00C directive and CNAP TYCOM direction, the bare metal on the shaft was tasked for repair utilizing Hycote 151. All damage was repaired and documented in accordance with NAVSEA 00C contract requirements and all work completed on time allowing the ship to resume their operational schedule.

Everett Crew, Mobilized from Seaward San Diego
  

Bare Metal found on Shaft

Surface Preparation for coating

Hycote 151 Application

 

Blade Damage found

Cover Plate Missing
 

Seaward Marine Services was contracted with Greenpeace (Amsterdam) to perform a full hull cleaning of the SY RAINBOW WARRIOR in San Diego, December 27, 2013.  The Ship painted with ECOSPEED; an environmentally safe underwater ship hull coating system designed to be extremely durable and to conform to IMO’s convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems.  Seaward Marine’s pre-hull inspection indicated that marine growth was 50% with heavy oysters and hard growth.  Seaward Marine utilized the SCAMP multi-brush hull cleaning machine with a modified brush to remove the marine growth.  The paint scheme held up well to the cleaning effort.  The Ship reported that speed and performance were realized as a direct result of the cleaning.
 

Seaward’s D/V JACQUELINE alongside Greenpeace vessel   

Pre-cleaning of Sea-Chest

Post-Cleaning of Sea-Chest

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Seaward would like to thank the following members for their service:

Joey Walters, Noel McCully, and Stephen Spruill for thirty years of service.  Thomas Wright, Christina Woodrum, and Janice Arakawa for twenty years of service.  David Samuelson for 16,000 hours dive time working with Seaward.  Stanley Wujek and Michael Charles for 12,000 hours dive time working with Seaward.  William Greenwood Sr for 8,000 hours dive time working with Seaward.  Eric Stephenson for 4,000 hours dive time working with Seaward.  Thank you for your continuing service to our company and to our customers.
 

Stephen Spruill – 30 Years

Christina Woodrum – 20 Years

Stan Wujek – 12,000 Hours Dive Time

Tom Wright – 20 Years

David Samuelson – 16,000 Hours Dive Time

Mike Charles – 12,000 Hours Dive Time

Eric Stephenson – 4,000 Hours Dive Time
 

Seaward Marine Services has completed its third and newest dive platform for 2013.  These dive platforms are fully integrated units utilized by Seaward for all underwater services and can support up to four divers along with supporting equipment;  a 2.5 ton crane, three 10 gpm hydraulic power packs, one SCAMP multi-brush cleaning platform, up-to two 2500 psi waterblasters, one 10,000 psi hydroblaster, underwater cameras with CCTV, and other diver hand held equipment.

All of Seaward's dive platforms have water heaters for cold weather diving and redundant air systems and communication systems for safety.

Seaward San Diego completed the Mobile 1 and 2 dive platforms the summer of 2013 and Norfolk completed the Mobile 4 platform in November. 
 

East Coast

West Coast

Seaward Marine M/V COASTAL PRIDE divers performed a cleaning and ABS Underwater Inspection in Lieu of Drydocking (UWILD) of the dry dock SPEEDE. A UWILD is an alternative to dry-docking inspection and is carried out by an ABS approved diver under the watch of an attending surveyor, it includes all items normally examined if the vessel were dry-docked. Specific frame areas of the hull along with the 12 ballast inlet sea chests and 3 firemain seachests were cleaned and inspected as directed by the ABS inspector. All work was monitored topside through closed circuit video. The inspection was documented on the Divers Hull Inspection Data report (DHID) along with video recording of conditions of the underwater hull. 

SPEEDE is the only ABS and US NAVY certified dry dock on the East Coast and Seaward is proud to be a part of this evolution.
 

In preparation for the 2013 website redesign, Seaward Marine Services, Inc. commissioned Parroco Production Group, Inc. to make a set of promotional videos for us. These videos are now placed throughout the site and hosted by Vimeo, but we have also placed all of those videos on our youtube channel.

Here is the link to our channel: 

Seaward Marine Services, Inc. Official Youtube Channel 

To save you time, we have also embeded our promo video playlist below for your enjoyment: 
 

​Youtube tips:  

When playing you can click the bottom right icon to the right of the gear to fullscreen the video.

You can also click the gear and then use the quality pulldown to change it to High Def if it didn’t do it automatically when you fullscreened it.

We do have captions available on our youtube videos only(not an option yet on Vimeo), you can press the CC to turn them on or off.  You may choose to translate these captions to your local language in the CC menu, however results may vary since languages that don't share the same word ordering as english may not make sense as very often each caption stops and starts mid-sentence.(The google translation engine may or may not be smart enough to deal with this)
 

Seaward has recently honored nine of its members for 30+ years of service. All of these men have functioned in the capacity as a diver, supervisor, project manager, and/or general manager in the past 30 years. To Tom Meshot (VP of Pacific Operations), Tom Orsag, Glen Tchelistcheff, John Martin, Ken Myers, Claude Blemmer, Stan Zielezinski, Mickey Bisese, and Anthony “Tony” Bird, thank you for your continuing service to our company and to our customers. 
 

Congratulations to Seaward Marine Services Guinness Book of World Records holder Noel McCully for extending his record to 25,000 hours in a diving helmet. Noel first certified the record in 2008 with 20,524 hours in a diving helmet.  Link to article at Hamptonroads.com from 2008
 

Noel a native to Hawaii graduated from the University of Hawaii then decided to enter the world of diving by graduating from the commercial diving center, now the National University Polytechnic Institute, in 1976. During his 29 year career at Seaward Marine Services Noel has worked on all three coasts as well as Europe, the Caribbean, and regions in the Pacific servicing the US Navy. 

 

McCully tending to a diver early in his career at Seaward

Noel posing for news interview about Guinness World Record