Mighty Servant 2
Mighty Servant 2 was a 29,000-ton semi-submersible heavy-lift ship.
The MS2 was built in 1983 for Dutch shipping firm Wijsmuller Transport, which merged in 1993 with Dock Express Shipping to become Belgium-based offshore heavylifting group Dockwise. Most of MS2's cargoes were oil platforms and related gear. When loading its mammoth burdens, the ship took thousands of gallons of water into ballast tanks, sinking its cargo deck underwater. The cargo would be floated into position, whereupon the MS2 would slowly pump out its ballast, lifting the deck up to sailing position.
The firm's Web site says such ships can "carry the heaviest semi-submersible drilling units, harsh-environment deep-water jack-up rigs and large floating production platforms like TLP's, FPU's and spars with drafts of up to 14 metres."[1]
Its most famous job was the July 1988 haulage of the U.S. Navy's USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) from Dubai to Newport, Rhode Island after the guided missile frigate struck a mine in the Persian Gulf on 14 April 1988. The 125-meter frigate barely fit on the MS2's cargo deck; holes had to be cut to accommodate the frigate's sonar dome and stabilizing fins. The loading, which was supervised by divers and underwater video monitors, took about 12 hours, thanks to gaps measured in mere centimeters. About one-tenth of the frigate's 200-man crew remained aboard during the 8,100-mile, 30-day voyage.[2]
The MS2 capsized on 2 November 1999 near the Indonesian island of Singkep (latitude 00.48 south, longitude 104.20 east). The ship was en route from Singapore to Cabinda bearing the North Nemba Topsides[3] 8,790-ton offshore production module. The vessel tipped onto its side in 35 meters of water in reportedly calm seas. A hydrographic survey of the area later discovered an unmarked "single isolated pinnacle of granite directly on the ship's course." Five crew members perished, including two Dutch and two Filipino men. The MS2 was declared a total loss.[4]
Characteristics
- Built: 1983
- Lost: 1999
- Crew: 20
- Flag: Netherland Antilles
(Note: these are the figures given for MS2's sister ship Mighty Servant 1)[5]
- Length overall: 190.03 m
- Length b.p.: 174.70 m
- Width: 50.00 m
- Depth: 12.00 m
- Draft sailing: 8.77 m
- Draft submerged: 26.00 m
- Draft minimum: 4.00 m
- Maximum cargo draft: 14.00 m
- Gross tonnage: 29,193 t
- Deadweight: 40,190 t
- Deck space: 50 x 150 m
- Deck load: 19-40 tons per square meter
- Cargo hold: 50 x 16 x 7.5 m
- Hatch: 31 x 14.6 m
- Cruising speed: 14 kts
- Maximum speed: 15 kts
- Range: 59 days