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Squadrons Complete Surveys of Gulf Coast Fairways, Oil Platforms

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050921-09
Release Date: 9/21/2005 6:30:00 PM

By Journalist Seaman Joanne De Vera, USS Bataan Public Affairs

GULF OF MEXICO (NNS) -- In support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in September, Sailors from Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCM) 3 and Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15 worked side-by-side with Coast Guard ships to search for oil rigs lost or damaged due to the hurricane and to look for navigational hazards and obstructions in a 1,500-square-mile area along the Gulf Coast.

Mine warfare ships USS Chief (MCM 14), USS Gladiator (MCM 11), USS Pioneer (MCM 9), USS Scout (MCM 8), USS Defender (MCM 2) and USS Falcon (MHC 5), based out of Naval Station Ingleside, Texas, each played a role in the operation. The Mexican Navy amphibious ship Papaloapan (P 411) and the Dutch Navy frigate HNMS Jan van Amstel (F 831) also assisted.

The ships surveyed and located dislodged oil rigs in the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) area. “Those oil rigs are about 100 to 200 feet long, and they were commercial working platforms,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sanford Thornton, HM-15’s maintenance officer. “If a transport ship was to hit one, the damage would be massive.”

“The safe transport of goods and services depends on the information we obtain,” said Thornton. “About 25 percent of oil used in the U.S. comes from the Gulf Coast, so anything that affects those transport ships affects the whole country.”

The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) was the command and control platform for the surveys. Capt. Jonathan Tobias, commodore, MCM-3, was the tactical commander for the deployed mine warfare assets in support of Joint Task Force Katrina.

HM-15 used its MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters to tow the AN/AQS14A (VI) Helicopter-Towed Mine Hunting System around the waters of the Gulf Coast, surveying oil rig locations. The system processes and records sonar data from a towed 32-channel side-scan sonar.

Locating the oil rigs and navigational hazards is a different role from the squadron’s normal mission of hunting for mines in the water.

“Instead of looking specifically for mines, which are about eight feet long and 24 inches in diameter, we’re just trying to see how much debris there is in a general area,” said Tobias. “It’s safer because we don’t have to worry about setting off an explosive, but it’s still hazardous because we have to maneuver around fields of debris.”

Good communication between the Navy and Coast Guard was needed in order for the overall mission to succeed.

“The Navy notifies the Coast Guard about the hazards we discover and they use that information to formulate a plan to get the channels and waterways navigational again,” said Tobias. “We sent liaison officers to Coast Guard offices to translate their needs and requirements into tasks for us to complete. Overall, we have solid communications, and the operations have been going very smoothly.”

Bataan’s involvement in the humanitarian assistance operations is an effort led by the Department of Defense in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.