''Q4000'' is a multi-purpose oil field construction and intervention vessel ordered in 1999 by Cal Dive International, and was built at the Keppel AmFELS shipyard in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

for $180 million. She was delivered in 2002 and operates under the flag of the United States. She is operated by

Helix Energy Solutions Group Helix Energy Solutions Inc., known as Cal Dive International prior to 2006, is an American oil and gas services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company is a global provider of offshore services in well intervention and ROV operatio ...

. The original ''Q4000'' concept was conceived and is owned by SPD/McClure. The design was later modified by Bennett Offshore, which was selected to develop both the basic and detailed design. ''Q4000'' has a column-stabilized

semisubmersible Semi-submersible may refer to a self-propelled vessel, such as: *Heavy-lift ship, which partially submerge to allow their cargo (another ship) to float into place for transport *Narco-submarine, some of which remained partially on the surface *Se ...

design that combines

dynamically positioned Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompass ...

station-keeping with a large deck space, significant deck load capacity and a high transit speed of 12 knots. The vessel provides a stable platform for a wide variety of tasks, including subsea completion, decommissioning and coiled tubing deployment, and she is specifically designed for oil well intervention and construction in depths of up to 3000 meters of water.

Specifications

The design of the ''Q4000'' includes the following features: *Dynamic positioning with 6 azimuthing thrusters *A multi-purpose Huisman designed three-sided tower capable of fulfilling all traditional derrick roles *Two Huisman cranes with lifting capacities of 160 and 360 Tonnes *Seabed access to 3048 meters *An 11.9 meter x 6.4 meter moonpool *A 7 3/8 inch intervention riser system (The vessel was refitted with a slimbore drilling capability in 2008). *A 3000-meter heavy weather ROV system *An overall deck capacity of 4,000 tonnes

''Deepwater Horizon'' spill response

''Q4000'' was in the Gulf of Mexico participating in the response to the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...

. The vessel was used to position the large containment dome and also to attempt the "

top kill A top kill is a procedure used as a means of regaining control over an oil well that has been producing or is experiencing well control issues with crude oil or natural gas in the well. It is not a procedure where control has been lost over the w ...

" in which large quantities of drilling mud were pumped down the ''Q4000'' drilling pipe into the failed ''Deepwater Horizon''

blowout preventer A blowout preventer (BOP) (pronounced B-O-P, not "bop") is a specialized valve or similar mechanical device, used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells to prevent blowouts, the uncontrolled release of crude oil or natural gas from a w ...

valve (BOP) in an attempt to stop the flow of oil. Both attempts failed to stop the oil leaking from the well. After removal of the failed riser and drill pipe on the Horizon BOP, a capping stack sealed the top of the well on July 15, 2010, stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The ''Q4000'' was used in a successful static kill procedure, where mud, followed by cement, was pumped into the well, sealing the leak at the source. The ''Deepwater Horizon'' BOP was secured on the deck of the ''Q4000'' around 10:20pm on September 4, 2010.BP Subsea operational update Sept 5, 2010: The failed ''Deepwater Horizon'' BOP was collected as key evidence into the investigation of the causes of the oil spill.

References

External links

Q4000 current position
at ''VesselTracker'' {{Deepwater 2002 ships Semi-submersibles Service vessels