Position: Chief Mate, SDPO
Company: Cal-Dive International
Time: July ‘03 – October ’09
Web: www.Caldive.com
The Uncle John has been the primary influence to my career to date, having worked my way through the ranks from a Watchkeeping DPO up to the position of Chief Mate SDPO. Do to the vessels configuration as a Semi Submersible Multi Service Vessel I have been able to experience & learn from a wide array of various oilfield tasks performed that would otherwise require experience on several different ship types to match.
Some examples of the various type of work include, but are not limited to:
Air & Saturation Diving
ROV Operations
Coring & Well Intervention
Plug & Abandonment
Riser & Pipeline Installation
Heavy Lift Operations
The last part of my stay on the Uncle John was spent as part of Chevron’s “Hurricane Recovery Team”. This involves scrapping platforms that have been knocked over during hurricane season here in the Gulf, installing wellheads & ultimately shutting down the well.
I was also serving as Chief Mate during 2 major refits in the ship yard. This involved liaising & directing ship yard workers & overseeing a large project.
Additionally, my duties have included:
Helicopter Landing Officer,
Ballast Control Operator in charge of vessel stability during all operations, including fueling
Maintenance of the vessels Lifting Gear registry
Stability Calculations
Running the Deck
…and the numerous other daily operations that are the standard practice of seafarers & DPO’s, such as navigation, file maintenance & ensuring safe position keeping.