Bisso Marine, Houston, has acquired the 400’x100’x30’ offshore derrick/pipelay barge Global Iroquois, which will be renamed Bisso Iroquois.
“This is a significant move for Bisso Marine, as we have been searching for some time now for the perfect asset to substantially upgrade our current pipelay capabilities,” said company President and CEO Beau Bisso. “The guys that designed and built this barge were clearly in the business of laying very big pipe, and it comes as no surprise to me to see why the barge has such a great reputation. We are very happy to have it in our fleet.”
The barge’s substantial station keeping system features 10 single-drum winches with 320 kips of pulling force and 744 kip holding force each. Each single drum winch holds 5,300’ of 2.5” wire rope. The barge’s main tub mounted dynamic revolving crane has a 250 ton capacity and the deck crane is a Manitowoc 4100W Series 2.
The pipe handing system is designed to handle for 40’ pipe joints but can accommodate 60’ joints with some modifications. The pipe handling system can handle pipe joints weighing up to 38 tons each. Through a series of conveyors, pipe is fed into a fully enclosed ready rack, line up station and firing line. The firing line features eight work stations, four of which are dedicated to welding.
The barge is configured with two 220 kip SAS tension machines with a total capacity of 440 kips of tension. The tensioners can pass an 84” maximum diameter. Accompanying the two SAS tensioners is a 440 kip capacity (on a full drum) SAS abandonment and recovery (A&R) winch capable of holding 5,000’ of 3.5” wire rope. The barge is also outfitted with six 75 ton davits.
The primary stinger system is a two section 180’ gantry-supported rigid truss. An alternative floating "Alpha" pontoon stinger system is also available. The 300’ Alpha stinger is composed of five 60’ sections.
The Bisso Iroquois can accommodate 256 persons and features a large galley and dining area, a large theater, several conference rooms, ample client office space, a gym and a three-bed hospital. The below deck machinery space houses all ten mooring winches, three main generators providing 7,875 kW of electrical power, 1,200 gallons per hour water making, substantial capacity for fuel, warehousing and dry stores. The barge boasts significant on-board machining and milling capabilities.
During the last decade, the barge has been reconfigured and received significant capacity, technology and efficiency upgrades to enable it to perform internationally in very harsh environments for long durations.
The barge was most recently working offshore Brazil laying pipelines up to 34” diameter with heavy concrete coatings in water depths ranging from 20’ to 300’. Most notably the barge has an impressive track record of laying very large and heavy concrete coated pipe up to 55.5" in total diameter as well as laying 30" concrete coated pipe in approximately 800' of water.
