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Mine Warfare Ships Survey LOOP, Aid Resumption of Oil Production

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050914-33
Release Date: 9/14/2005 11:35:00 PM

From Commander, Mine Warfare Command Public Affairs

GULF OF MEXICO (NNS) -- Four mine warfare ships from Naval Station Ingleside, Texas, are surveying the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) and safety fairways south of Grand Isle.

The survey is a critical task in support of putting U.S. oil production and shipping back online, after the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

The ships are surveying offshore oil and gas infrastructure, to include more than 250 nautical miles of safety fairways and 35 oil platforms. The ships are identifying obstructions so that U.S. Navy and Coast Guard divers can recover them to help ensure safe passage, so recovery and relief efforts to the affected areas are not inhibited.

“We are aware that there are many people in the region who are relying on us to verify that the waterways in and around the Gulf Coast are safe for navigation,” said Capt. Jonathan Tobias, commodore of Mine Countermeasures Squadron 3, who is the tactical commander for the deployed mine warfare assets.

The LOOP provides tanker offloading and temporary storage services for crude oil transported on some of the largest tankers in the world. Most tankers offloading at LOOP are too large for U.S. inland ports.

LOOP not only provides tanker offloading and temporary storage of crude oil, but also transportation of crude oil via connecting pipelines to refineries throughout the Gulf Coast and Midwest.

The ships located toppled oil platforms in the Gulf that are potential hazards to navigation. In particular, one of the ships reported unsafe surveying conditions due to recently marked hazards surrounded by floating buoys connected with lines and rope, and a high probability of unmarked hazards associated with damaged or submerged oil platform structures.

“We are pleased that the mine warfare community is able to contribute to Joint Task Force Katrina,” said Tobias. “We are able to apply our mine warfare warfighting skills to provide support to the relief efforts by surveying the seaward approaches to the Gulf Coast and offshore oil platforms."

Two MH-53E helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15 have joined the four ships in conducting safety fairway surveys.

“All of the Sailors involved in this operation are putting forth the same high level of energy as they would if called to perform their mission in time of war," said Tobias. "We are only one part of a larger team [in recovery efforts], and we hope we can do our best to contribute to this effort.”

Mine warfare assets are working in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard. They will leave the area when their unique parts of the mission are complete and civil authorities can conduct follow-on recovery operations.