''Discoverer Enterprise'' is a fifth generation deepwater double hulled

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 ...

drillship A drillship is a merchant vessel designed for use in exploratory offshore drilling of new oil and gas wells or for scientific drilling purposes. In recent years the vessels have been used in deepwater and ultra-deepwater applications, equipped ...

(

ASTANO Astano is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Astano is first mentioned in 1272 as ''Astanum''. The old village center has some architecturally notable buildings, such as the Ca' da Roma. ...

FPSO design) owned and operated by Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., capable of operating in moderate environments and water depths up to 3,049 m (10,000 ft) using an , 15,000 psi

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 well, oil and gas wells to prevent Blowout (well drilling), blowouts, the uncontrolled release of ...

(BOP), and a outside diameter (OD)

marine riser Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

. From 1998 to 2005 the vessel was Panama-flagged and currently flies the

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...

of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

. ''Discoverer Enterprise'' has two sister ships, ''Discoverer Spirit'' completed in 1999, and ''Discoverer Deep Seas'' completed in 2000. The ship was the first to offer a dual drilling derrick capability. The dual derricks allowed simultaneous operations to be performed, and according to Transocean increased efficiency by 40 percent. The US$360 million ship gives its name to the Enterprise

Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of large deepwater drillships.

''Deepwater Horizon'' spill response

The ship operates in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

under contract to BP. The drilling vessel has equipment that allow it to process hydrocarbons, and is capable of handling up to . On June 3, 2010, several weeks after the explosion of ''Deepwater Horizon'', ''Discoverer Enterprise'' was used to collect oil and gas from the damaged subsea wellhead by lowering a cap connected via a drilling riser over the release, and collecting oil and gas.

References

External links

Transocean official website

''Discoverer Enterprise'' — V7HD2 — position and weather
at '' Sailwx'' {{Deepwater 1998 ships Deepwater Horizon oil spill Drillships Ships built in Spain Ships of the Marshall Islands Transocean

''Deepwater Horizon'' spill response

See also

References

External links